


☆ Notice Me Unnie (I’m Gonna Meet a Star) ☆

by KatJumpedOverTheMoon



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: College/University AU, F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Mysterious magical powers, Reverse fangirls AU, TWICE is a 3 member group AU, michaeng, namo - Freeform, saida
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-16
Updated: 2018-05-23
Packaged: 2019-03-05 06:59:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 23,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13382589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatJumpedOverTheMoon/pseuds/KatJumpedOverTheMoon
Summary: Kim Dahyun and Son Chaeyoung have a thing for sublimely beautiful Japanese pop idols.Six ONCE fangirls are brought together by their pure devotion for TWICE, a world famous J-pop group with members Sana. Mina, and Momo. Suddenly, the extraordinary opportunity to meet this group in person appears. Throw a dose of fangirls' mysterious abilities into the mix. And so begins a very strange adventure to the city of Tokyo. Could any of this possibly turn into...love?





	1. Lucky Draw

**Author's Note:**

> I wondered what would happen if some members of TWICE were the fangirls, and also added supernatural/magic powers into the story which will influence future events. Please anticipate SaiDA , MiChaeng , and a bit of NaMo. Thanks for reading~

Kim Dahyun’s heart raced with wild abandon.

She stared at the sweat covered phone in shock. Could this be real?

_New Group Chat Started_

_fiftyshadesofsana_   _is typing…_

_fiftyshadesofsana:_ Hello my name is Sana 

 

* * *

**One week earlier**

"No, I don't like this one."

"This color looks good!"

"Aw cuute."

"Hmf, why so expensive."

"You spend too much on snacks, Jeongyeon."

Jeongyeon looked at Dahyun, then put down the lip color with a sad huff. Ah, the reality of the broke student life.

The shopping mall started to get busier as all the university students were getting off class for the day. The young crowd filtered into the trendy clothing and cosmetic stores, which were blasting catchy pop songs over the speakers. Dahyun and Jeongyeon held onto each other, trying not to get lost in the throng.

"Maybe next time,” Jeongyeon sighed.

The two girls, who were close roommates, strolled next door to the music store. The dazzling lights and flashy displays promoted the newest hit music.

"Look, look!" Dahyun was giddy with excitement as she jumped up and down while pointing. "Jeongyeon, look!"

"Yes, I see, I see it." Jeongyeon tried to calm down the fangirling Dahyun.

"It's TWICE!!!"

The giant posters of their favorite three-member Japanese girl group, TWICE, plastered the front of the store. The famous, beautiful members－Sana, Mina, and Momo－graced the cover of the promotional materials. At least twenty identical TV screens behind the store window played the newest Twice music video on repeat. The sheer color and energy of the display was enough to catch the eye of any passerby. 

Dahyun felt her breath stop for a brief moment as she gazed up in awe at the twinkling eyes of Miss Minatozaki Sana, her ultimate bias. Her heart beat faster just at the mere encounter of Twice in public. 

"I love them so so much, now we just  _have_ to go in!" With determination, Dahyun dragged Jeongyeon into the store.

"Dahyun, I swear you are like obsessed with these girls," Jeongyeon rolled her eyes.

“You like TWICE too, unnie! I saw you streaming Momo’s dance solo on Youtube yesterday.”

“T-that’s different!” Jeongyeon sputtered. “She’s just so talented with her...movements!”

“I know you wanna take a closer look.” Dahyun winked, knowing Jeongyeon was a soft stan on the inside, as if she didn’t notice the photo of Hirai Momo was Jeongyeon’s phone background screen.

Jeongyeon proceeded to examine the nearby rack of CDs as Dahyun gushed on about the subtle yet unmistakable elegance of Mina, the mesmerizing allure of Momo, and most of all, the enduring sexy-cuteness of Sana. Her hands clasped together and her eyes took on a starry, faraway look as she enthused over Sana. Oh, Sana. Sana this, Sana that. Dahyun could never stop talking about her favorite TWICE member. The girl’s heart was completely and utterly given to this Japanese pop idol.

“And the way Sana looks soo cute when she dances...” Dahyun squeezed her cheeks, usually pale but now blushed rose pink, clearly adrift in her own daydreams.

“Hey Dahyun, look." Jeongyeon pointed out the giant contest signs to shut her up.

“Huh?”

The enormous glass box perched atop the front counter was over a cubic meter in size, filled about two-thirds of the way with countless paper slips.

The signs decorated all around screamed “Lucky Draw: Win exclusive concert tickets to see TWICE live in Japan + backstage access to meet the members, upon purchase of new TWICE album.”

“Is this...what I think it is?” Dahyun grasped Jeongyeon’s arm as she realized what this could mean.

“Yeah, let’s enter and try to win.”

Dahyun looked at Jeongyeon incredulously, as if those words even needed to be said. She rushed over and greeted the bored employee behind the counter, who seemed used to seeing giddy fangirls crowding up the store.

“How do we enter?”

“Read the sign, you gotta purchase at least one album to enter,” the employee answered, hardly looking up from his phone.  

Dahyun turned anxiously to Jeongyeon. “Unnie, what’s our food budget like for this month? I can afford to buy a couple right?”

Jeongyeon looked at her, unsurprised. Of course, this crazy fangirl would be willing to give up a few meals just to afford to enter this contest. The math-savvy student did some quick calculations in her head. “You can’t buy any more than ten. We’re already over budget from last month, not to mention Jihyo’s birthday will be next week and we should get her something nice.”

Dahyun pouted. “Oh fine.” She turned back to the counter. “Can we buy ten please, that would give us ten entries into the contest, right?”

The employee started totaling up the amount on the register and gave her a form to fill out.

“is it okay if I put your cell phone number?” 

“Why mine?”

“Remember? I’m getting a new phone next week. We  _have_ to make sure we’ll get notified if we win.”

“Sure,”Jeongyeon watched the younger girl intently filling out her name and address. “You sound so certain like we’re gonna win. I mean...it’d be  _daebak_ to get the chance to go to Japan and meet them in person. But…” Jeongyeon gazed hopelessly at the numerous entries already filling the giant container.  “What are the odds?”

“ _Kamsamnida_ ,” Dahyun bowed and handed the form back to the employee, who verified the number said '10 entries' and dropped it into the box together with the thousands of other submissions.

Momentarily, she stayed silent, but inside she knew what she had to do. It was cheating, a bit, but when would a chance like this ever come again? She could probably never afford to visit Japan and go to concert in the near future, not to mention this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to actually meet TWICE in person? Only a complete fool wouldn’t do it.

The Gift she always had, ever since she could remember. There was no definitive explanation for it, or clear boundaries for what she could or couldn’t do with the Gift. But from time to time, she could influence small events, push circumstances to occur in this way or that to make things happen.

It was the little things, from the time she broke a neighbor’s window hitting a baseball and could repair the cracks with a strong stare, to the time last week when she messed up in chemistry lab but could still change the solution to the right color by just focusing on it.

This was the perfect chance. She felt the sensation tugging, as if the feeling was too intense to bear and was meant for it to happen. With a sharp inhale of breath, Dahyun concentrated her eagle gaze upon the paper behind the glass wall.

Like magic, the numbers written on the slip vanished then changed, from 10 entries to 1000 entries. It was the simple addition of two zeros, that could make all the difference. Dahyun had now entered a thousand entries into the contest, using Jeongyeon’s phone number.

"Wow what are we gonna do with ten TWICE albums?" Jeongyeon took the bag of albums from the cashier. 

"Display them proudly on our shelf, of course," Dahyun answered, as though nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.

“Come on, let’s go,” Jeongyeon didn’t seem to notice anything amiss as she lead Dahyun out of the store. “I heard Tony Moly has some sales today. And let’s invite everyone out for dinner tonight.”

* * *

 

_Thursday, January 18_

_Unread messages below_

_\---_

_adorkable.dubu_ : ATTENTION PPL

 

_adorkable.dubu_ : THERE’S A LOTTERY AT THE PARK MALL MUSIC STORE TODAY

 

_adorkable.dubu_ : TO SEE TWICE IN JAPAN 

 

_adorkable.dubu_ : asdhfjsadhgkjs we entered and i cant

 

_queennayeon01_ : say whaat??

 

_taller_than_you_ : slow down, whats happening?

 

_chef_jokesalot_ : sigh ok everyone PSA

 

_chef_jokesalot_ : dahyun and I went to the mall today and entered some contest to win twice concert tickets

 

_queennayeon01_ : O_O

 

_adorkable.dubu_ : everyone help us win and go there to buy more entries pleaaaase

 

_chef_jokesalot_ : no guarantee we’ll win obviously

 

_voiceofhoney_ : i love TWICE’s new album!! that would be so amazing if you won~

 

_queennayeon01_ : i’d be so jelly jelly

 

_queennayeon01_ : also momo forever my bias

 

_taller_than_you_ : i’d kill you both to get the winning tickets

 

_babycub99_ : …….

 

_taller_than_you_ : jk ily teehee

 

_babycub99_ : HELL YES. I neeeed to enter now

 

_babycub99_ : i mean, when else would we get the chance to see twice live?

 

_chef_jokesalot_ : ah chaengie you wanna meet mina-senpai right ^-^

 

_babycub99_ : ..uhh well yeah!!

 

_adorkable.dubu_ : chaeyoung likes mina heheheh ~~~

 

_taller_than_you_ : its true, she has pictures of mina all over her room in our dorm

 

_babycub99_ : um excuse me dahyun we can’t go a day without hearing you talk about sana

 

_adorkable.dubu_ : she’s mine forever <3 <3 <3 no one can claim her ok

 

_queennayeon01_ : jeongyeon buy me some more entries so my dream of meeting twice can come true

 

_chef_jokesalot_ : what. we are broke. go buy it yourself 

 

_taller_than_you_ : nayeon unnie i can enter for you. just made another $1000 in the stocks today so i can buy more albums yay

 

_queennayeon01_ : THANK YOU

 

_chef_jokesalot_ : woaah tzuyu why you gotta be such a stock market genius

 

_taller_than_you_ : i study business remember ^.~  anyway my dad taught me a lot so that’s why i’ve been investing more on my own

 

_taller_than_you_ : yeah i’ll buy entries for anyone who hasn’t gotten any yet

 

_queennayeon01_ : TZUYU OUR SAVIOR

 

_voiceofhoney_ : thank you tzuyuuu ~<3 this is awesome!!

 

_taller_than_you_ : np (>//<) it’d be more fun if we go together

 

_babycub99_ : yaaaaay!!!

 

_adorkable.dubu_ : I CANT WAIT ASDSASFSJDXLKFDGHJD SANA IM COMING FOR U 

 

_chef_jokesalot_ : hey we’re going out for ramen now, anyone wanna join us?

 

_voiceofhoney_ : singing lessons tonite..but definitely wanna meet up later~ been a long week bc our chemistry prof keeps giving us so much hw! TT

 

_adorkable.dubu_ : aww jihyo we miss u :(

 

_queennayeon01_ : lets hang soon! also i’m dying from my anatomy class workload

 

_chef_jokesalot_ : who is gonna come? also which place

 

_babycub99:_ let’s go to the one from last time with the really good miso

 

_taller_than_you:_ ok see you all there 

 

_voiceofhoney:_ love you girls <3

 

_adorkable.dubu:_ I LOVE MINATOZAKI SANA

 


	2. The Prize

Son Chaeyoung slowly removed one of her earphones and started twirling it around with her hand like a helicopter blade. The soulful, thumpy beats of an R&B song reverberated in her ear, and the pretty rap fan hummed along to the tune. Carefree thoughts drifted across her mind as she strolled home after a long day of class. She wondered if her roommate Tzuyu wanted to meet for dinner.

Suddenly, an awful cry pierced her ears.

"Help!" A child's wail echoed..

Chaeyoung turned the corner at the next road and found a little girl, sobbing on the ground next to a fallen bicycle, with a twisted leg bent at an odd angle and clearly broken. No one else was around, not even a passing car to flag down for help.

Chaeyoung rushed to her. A torrent of sympathy rose in her for the injured child. She knew what she had to do. It was what she had always done in her life, whenever the need arose, and without fail she had always managed to do the Gift.

"Don't worry, don't worry," Chaeyoung consoled the crying child. She debated whether or not to move the girl’s leg, splayed out on the ground after the bike accident, before she attempted to heal the injury.

"It hurts..." the girl wiped away some of her tears, comforted by the sight of this beautiful, mysterious unnie who had come to rescue her.

"Shh, I know," Chaeyoung decided she could risk at least moving her to sit by the curb and not out in the street like this. "I know this will hurt a tiny bit, but please bear with me."

The girl uttered only the softest of cries as Chaeyoung slowly lifted her up until both her legs including the injured one were not touching the ground. By focusing on the energies of her Gift with utmost concentration. Chaeyoung tried to minimize her pain when shifting positions of the leg. Strands of concentrative power were transmitting to the child.

Moving her to sit upright by the curb, Chaeyoung again whispered, "It's okay, you'll be okay," as the girl's leg was stretched out. The girl could only watch in awe, unsure of what she was about to do.

Chaeyoung concentrated her Gift upon the injury in the leg. As if mentally travelling the tissues, bloodstreams, and nerves in the leg, she could instantly pinpoint the cause, focusing in on the internal tear. Harnessing the energies within her Gift reserves, she whispered the ancient syllables that came to her lips as naturally as the notes of an old lullaby. Instinctively, she knew what to do. The girl was no longer crying, or even whimpering. Instead, she stared with fascination as Chaeyoung completed healing the injury.

"Wow," the little girl whispered in awe. She moved her leg slowly, gingerly at first and was delighted to discover it was completely healed back to normal without any injury..

"Don't tell anyone about this," Chaeyoung pleaded with her.

The Gift always had to be something that was kept a secret. Only her mother knew about this trait that ran among rare members in the Son family line, always a female.  _“Chaeyoung, never let anyone know about your special ability. Otherwise the world will take advantage of you, as it had for our ancestors before us.”_ Her mother’s words of warning echoed in her head and could never leave her.

The little girl stared back at Chaeyoung and nodded slowly, still in shock of what just happened.

“And be careful next time,” she cautioned, giving the girl a small smile.

“Jae-eun? There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you.” At the sound of her mother’s voice nearby, the little girl ran off.

With her work done, Chaeyoung put her earphones back on. A TWICE song started playing on shuffle. The lovely surprise of Myoui Mina’s voice in her ear brought a smile to her face. Hers was an angelic voice that came to accompany her time and time again, a time when she could drift off to another world.

 _She completes me_.

 

* * *

 

“Stop stealing my fries!”

“It wasn’t me, it was her...”

“They’re so good, I can’t help it,” Dahyun talked with her mouth half full.

“Learn some table manners,” Jeongyeon chided.

Chaeyoung pushed her empty plate away and started checking her phone for Twitter updates. “You all will not believe TWICE's visuals from today’s live show. They. look. stunning.”

Tzuyu looked over at Chaeyoung’s screen, the Taiwanese exchange student staring in silent awe.

“Everyone, everyone!” Nayeon ran up to the table, screaming. As per usual, the oldest girl of the group acted the silliest. The girls at the table stopped talking or staring at their phones to notice Nayeon waving frantically like a kid.

“HELP ME WIN A PLUSHIE!”

The children, Dahyun and Tzuyu, got up and ran over to play the nearby claw game with Nayeon. The others chuckled and continued their chatter.

“Yah, looks so cute,” Dahyun peered past the glass into the claw machine at piles of adorable stuffed plushies.

“I want the puppy,” Tzuyu pointed at one near the front. “It looks just like my dog Gucci.”

“Move aside girls, I’mma go first,” Nayeon bumped Tzuyu aside to insert the coins.

As Nayeon and Tzuyu anxiously watched the motorized claw begin to move, Dahyun couldn’t help but notice the next game over.

“Wha, look at this game...”

Flashy lights framed the array of tempting K-pop and J-pop merchandise prizes lined on tiered racks inside the machine. Dahyun’s eyes lit up at the sight of the official TWICE Candy Bong light stick, the special edition with the name ‘Minatozaki Sana’ etched in beautiful cursive lettering on the handle.  

“I need this in my life,” Dahyun declared, instantly whipping out her coin purse and dropping the coins in with a clatter.

Already she could picture herself lovingly displaying the light stick on her shelf, gazing at it every night before falling asleep to dreams about TWICE. And what if she actually could go to that concert? Then she could bring that light stick with her to cheer her favorite member on. Her heart fluttered at the thought.

“What are you playing, unnie?” Tzuyu came over to watch Dahyun play the game. Nayeon, having lost the claw game, stopped sulking to observe her.

Dahyun fixated keenly on the claw, deftly maneuvering it across the row towards the prize.

After a few tense seconds...

“YES!”

The prize dropped down. Dahyun raised the Sana edition Candy Bong in victory. Nayeon looked on enviously while Tzuyu cheered.

 

* * *

 

Meanwhile, Jeongyeon, Jihyo, and Chaeyoung continued to chill casually back at the cafe table, having finished their meal.

“You will not believe how strange my new professor this semester is, he lit his own hair on fire during class just to teach us about fire safety, and the next day he came in wearing a chicken suit,” Jeongyeon described, running a hand through her short hair with incredulity. 

“ _Jinjja_?” Chaeyoung took a sip of her soda.

“Well my professor is really cute,” Jihyo’s big eyes shined with admiration. “I really admire her and her sense of style. Oh, and she always talks in such a refined manner…”

“Heh, looks like you got a little crush there,” Jeongyeon nudged her teasingly.

“Ya! It’s not like that,” Jihyo slapped her on the shoulder, blushing.

Meanwhile, Chaeyoung slumped in her chair, half-listening to the conversation while discreetly browsing social media photos of Mina and trying to decide which one should be her next profile picture.

Suddenly, the peppy tune of TWICE’s song “One More Time” cut the relaxed air. It was the sound of Jeongyeon’s ringtone.

“Hello?” She picked her phone up.

“Hello, I’m sorry to bother you, but I’m happy to inform you that..”

“Are you selling something? Because I don’t care,” Jeongyeon interrupted in a bored voice.

“No, no, it’s not like that. I’m a manager from the Japanese girl group TWICE and I’m pleased to inform you that your entries have been selected as the winner for this year’s lucky draw contest to meet TWICE live in Japan…”

Jihyo and Chaeyoung stopped at her expression, which changed from uninterested to shocked in about five seconds.

“Is everything okay?” Jihyo asked concernedly.

“You look pale as a ghost,” Chaeyoung chimed.

“Oh my god...” Jeongyeon covered her mouth, her pupils dilated, as she listened in.

“...And your reward trip will take place during the long weekend of the Lunar New Year. Don’t worry about the plane tickets because we will be forwarding the travel details to your email address…” the manager continued.

Jeongyeon listened intently before thanking the manager and finally hanging up the phone. She didn’t say anything for a good few seconds as her friends looked at her expectantly.

“WE WON THE TWICE CONTEST!!!” Jeongyeon finally burst out, standing up in elation.

Nayeon, Tzuyu, and Dahyun rushed in to hear the news, with Dahyun still holding the Sana prize, hugging it to her chest possessively.

“Say WHAT?” Nayeon squealed.

“Wait, how many of us can go?” Chaeyoung’s heart felt like it had stopped beating.

“The manager said our entries were selected, and we can take along up to ten people, so I guess that means all of us!” Jeongyeon scrolled through the email’s details.

Dahyun jumped up and started doing a happy dance on the table, dabbing while holding the light stick.

“Hey!” The cafe employee ran over and told her to get down, which Dahyun complied with reluctantly.

The other girls laughed and helped pull her down to stop her from embarrassing them in public.

“I cannot believe this is happening,” Nayeon pulled out her phone to start bragging on social media about getting to meet TWICE. “Hirai Momo, prepare yourself for my presence.”

Chaeyoung and Tzuyu excitedly joined hands, completely ecstatic. Chaeyoung had on the widest smile, looking like the happiest tiger cub in the world.

“Pack your bags girls, we are going to Japan!” Jihyo cheered.

 


	3. Touchdown in Tokyo

_Several weeks later_

“Is that Etude House?!” Nayeon promptly dropped all the suitcases she was carrying and rushed over to the airport shop, followed by a curious Tzuyu.

“I want snacks,” Chaeyoung, attracted to the shiny displays of snacks, wandered next door.

The group started to split into different directions, as everyone grew curious about one thing or another.

“Oh my god, have you people never been to an airport before,” Jihyo covered her face and started texting Jeongyeon from her seat, where she had to to watch over everyone’s luggage.

 

 _voiceofhoney_ : we’re by the check in counter, where are u? 

 _chef_jokesalot_ : checking the departure gate

 _voiceofhoney:_ these kids going crazy -_- please hurry back

 

Meanwhile, Dahyun stood by Jeongyeon who was still scrutinizing the flight details on her phone and looking back up at the departures board. With her pillow around her neck and compact luggage in tow, the younger girl glanced curiously at the busy scenes around her.

The past few weeks brought both anticipation and elation for Dahyun, at the same time a fantastic and agonizing feeling. Often she lay awake at night, endlessly entertained by the countless variety shows, music performances, social media updates, and live broadcasts released starring TWICE. Like a balloon about to burst, she could hardly contain her excitement. And now, the departure day had finally arrived.

“I’m going to ask the airline service counter for help,” Jeongyeon announced. “Help stay here with my stuff,”

“Roger that,” Dahyun gave a salute as Jeongyeon went off, leaving her luggage and phone behind.

Suddenly, the phone buzzed. Dahyun glanced around before checking the screen. Jeongyeon had just received a new chat message from...an unknown number? With bated breath, she opened the chat app.

“Heheheh, I wonder if Jeongyeon has been flirting with anyone on chat,” she snickered, checking the list of messages, though discreetly checking a friend’s phone was certainly a naughty thing to do.

Kim Dahyun’s heart raced wildly.

She stared at the sweat covered phone in shock. Could this be real?

 

_New Group Chat Started_

_fiftyshadesofsana_ _is typing…_

 _fiftyshadesofsana:_ Hello my name is Sana

 _fiftyshadesofsana:_ I hope this is the right number

 _fiftyshadesofsana:_ I’m a member of TWICE

 _fiftyshadesofsana:_ Uh...manager-san gave me this number to text the contest winner...

 

_(Holy-_

_Oh my god oh my god_

Dahyun could barely control her inner fangirl when instantly replying.)

 

 _chef_jokesalot:_ HI YES IT IS ME 

 _fiftyshadesofsana:_ Yay it is you! congrats for winning our contest ^o^

 _fiftyshadesofsana:_ and thank you for supporting us, dear ONCE~

 

(Her heart was pounding so fast that she could hardly breathe. Was this a dream? Or was she actually messaging her idol, the love of her life, right now?)

 

 _fiftyshadesofsana:_ what’s your name?

 

(Dahyun swallowed hard and steadied herself. _Ahhhh,_ **_the_ ** _Minatozaki Sana is actually asking me for my name!!_ Frantically, her fingers typed a quick response.)

 

 _chef_jokesalot:_ Kim Dahyun 

 _chef_jokesalot:_ I’m a really big fan of yours!!

 _fiftyshadesofsana:_ Kim Dahyun…….

(Sana typed many ellipses, as if she was rolling the name around in her mouth.)

 

 _fiftyshadesofsana:_ you are native Korean?

 _chef_jokesalot:_ yes

 _fiftyshadesofsana:_ are you a student?

 _chef_jokesalot:_ yes I study at Ewha Womans University in Seoul

 _fiftyshadesofsana:_ what do you study, Dahyun of Seoul?

(Sana was beginning to take on the fascination of a researcher studying her subject in the wild.)

 

 _chef_jokesalot:_ English and Japanese

 _fiftyshadesofsana:_ ah I see now. you know three languages? smarty pants.

 

(Dahyun stifled a giggle.)

 _chef_jokesalot:_ your korean isn’t bad yourself, unnie

 

 _fiftyshadesofsana:_ kekeke our manager makes us take hard korean lessons three times a week TT

 _fiftyshadesofsana:_ but now I’m glad I can talk with fans like you~

 

(switching to Japanese...)

 _fifftyshadesofsana:_ so who’s your favorite member of TWICE?

 

(Did Dahyun ever need to hesitate on the answer to that question?)

 

 _chef_jokesalot:_ you, Sana-senpai (◕‿◕)♡

 _chef_jokesalot:_ I loved your performance in candy pop! kawaii

 

 _fiftyshadesofsana:_ _*^^*♡_

 _fiftyshadesofsana:_ you sound cute ^.^

 _fiftyshadesofsana:_ I can’t wait to meet you

 

(Dahyun’s inner fangirl was currently screaming with the white-hot intensity of a thousand suns. Blushing, she looked around furtively, half glad Jeongyeon wasn’t there to make fun of her.)

 

 _chef_jokesalot:_ me too!

 _fiftyshadesofsana:_ O manager-san is calling me, I have to go now

 _fiftyshadesofsana:_ See you soon, Dahyun-chan~

 

Upon reading the last line, Dahyun closed her eyes under the airport skylights and basked in what heaven must feel like for a fangirl. Then her eyes snapped open and pangs of regret poured in.

_Why didn’t I say more? I was too shy shy shy!_

“Dahyun, what did I say about using my phone when I’m not around?” Jeongyeon’s voice, mildly annoyed, startled her out of her reverie.

In a streak of panic, she deleted the chat log and put the phone back on top of the suitcase.

“Just checking the flight details,” she muttered sheepishly.

“I just confirmed we’re supposed to go to gate 36D which is by the north terminal. Let’s go find the others,” Jeongyeon took her stuff and the two headed back towards the group waiting by the counter.

 

Nayeon was showing off her newly bought lip gloss, while Chaeyoung shared her new snacks with Jihyo and Tzuyu, who waved them over.

“Give me some,” Jeongyeon reached for the crinkly bag.

Ah, Dahyun still felt lightheaded. The surge of happiness was an instant sugar rush to her head. She so dearly wished she could tell someone, but she also didn’t want Jeongyeon to be mad she had been looking at her chat.

“Yaaaa,”Dahyun wrapped her arms around Jihyo playfully, starting to grin like an idiot.

“Hey what’s with you?” Jihyo exclaimed, bemused, as she pushed her off.

“I think Dahyun unnie is just excited about meeting TWICE,” Tzuyu surmised, her lip twitching as though sensing something was up.

The equivalent of just texting a long time crush sent her heart fluttering like a butterfly, only with intensity times a thousand; after all, this was the actual, real life Sana that the world adored, that gorgeous, almost-magical girl whose logic-defying beauty all the magazines celebrated on the covers, the one whose sweet voice and cute dances could melt the coldest of hearts.

One thing she knew for certain, she sure as hell didn’t want to miss the next few days. _For now, it’ll just be our little secret._

 

* * *

 

The pilot’s voice announced the long flight was almost over. A wave of relief washed over her. Nayeon yawned, stretched, straightened her sweatpants and hoodie. People might laugh at her for her ultra-comfy airport fashion, but she desired ultimate comfort while traveling

Sure she could be scolded by Jeongyeon, but true to her chat username, Nayeon carried herself with the air of a righteous queen who could dress how she wanted, and do whatever she wished. 

Looking around across the aisle, she observed Chaeyoung bent over her phone, studiously practicing her Japanese (in the interest of Mina, obviously). Meanwhile, Tzuyu and Dahyun were playing a game on a tablet, as Jihyo watched on the sidelines in awe at Tzuyu’s skill in killing things. Next to Nayeon, Jeongyeon was so deeply asleep she almost looked dead.

Just as Nayeon, feeling bored, was contemplating drawing something funny on her face...

A sudden sensation of pain hit her square in the middle of her forehead, accompanied by a strong flash of light that made her blink twice.

“Ouch!” she grumbled. Not again.

She could always tell when they were coming, always preceded by a sudden headache.  

The headaches always signified those persistent flashes of sight and sound that plagued her since early childhood. The visions were always short before she returned to the present. Nayeon would inevitably catch a strange glimpse of a future event, occurring a few seconds up to a few weeks in advance. Despite Nayeon’s usual open and outgoing manner, these...premonitions weren’t something she could easily divulge to friends. Who would believe her anyway?

Only her parents knew about these occurrences. Even they didn’t like to mention the subject, only asking her now and then if her headaches were bothering her. Sometimes, from the stories her grandma used to tell her, she heard whispers of the rare “future sight” passed down through generations of the Im family.

The Gift was certainly not something she could easily take advantage of. For starters, the visions never lasted for long, and their occurrences were unreliable at best. Often they didn’t even make complete sense, just like collecting fragments of half-forgotten dreams.

Perhaps some others in her place would be overjoyed to discover they possessed this power. But over the years, Nayeon regarded her ‘ability’ as a major annoyance. She just learned to ignore and put up with the aching headaches.

Not that the Gift never had its perks. Once during middle school, Nayeon had a future vision in the lunchroom of her boyfriend cheating on her. She proceeded to use that knowledge to confront him and break up.

After that time, she never dated a guy again. Nayeon never took second chances. After all, she knew she deserved better. 

But this time, during the headache that preceded the flash of vision, things seemed...different. Not necessarily off, or wrong, but different. A foreign sensation, one that simultaneously put her on edge and sent anxious, fluttering feelings in the pit of her stomach. The fog steadily faded as the scene came into focus...

 

At the top observation deck of Tokyo Skytree at night, the city lights spread below like a shimmering river of stars. Nayeon had only seen pictures on travel blogs or Instagram posts, but she recognized the place instantly.

And who was standing right in front of her? It was none other than Momo from her favorite girl group TWICE. Momo, her bias since the beginning. The one who made her heart pound and pulse race with every dance move she made.

But why is Momo here, in her vision? She never saw people she never met in real life, not someone famous nor fabulous, not someone she treasured like Momo. It felt just like a dream.

The Japanese dancing queen looked oddly solemn. Her wide brown eyes gazed in like windows to her soul, directed straight at Nayeon with some serious intent. Nayeon’s gaze couldn’t help but travel down that athletic figure, sending shivers down her spine. Did this girl have to wear something that exposed her midriff? Those defined abs could cut steel.

“I know we haven’t know each other for long…” Momo spoke with a soft husk. Her voice sounded intimate like a close friend’s, different from the way she rapped in songs or spoke in interviews on TV.

“I can’t help myself, I keep finding myself strangely falling for you.”

Nayeon’s mind went blank, populated with question marks.

“Will you...accept me?”

Momo’s words echoed as though transmitted through a train tunnel.

 

With a jolt, the plane touched down on the Tokyo Narita Airport runway. Along with the sudden bump, she snapped back to the present. The vision, if that was what it really was, ended as quickly as it came. She stirred slowly back to life once people started getting their luggage from the overhead compartments.

“Hello, earth to Nayeon. Are you asleep?”

Someone was waving in front of her face and laughing. The blurriness faded and she found herself staring into the curious eyes of Jeongyeon.

“As a matter of fact, I was,” Nayeon snapped, sitting up and trying to process what just happened to her.

 

The fangirls disembarked without further incident, and they filled their first day in Tokyo with exploration and excitement.  Wandering through Akihabara, the otaku’s paradise of the city, they came across a plethora of stores selling every anime and manga merchandise under the sun, not to mention multi-storied Japanese game arcades with enticing neon lights that highlighted the whimsical amusements within.

While Chaeyoung and Nayeon browsed Love Live figurines, Dahyun, yet again, managed to snag a plushie (this time, a stuffed Gudetama) from a UFO catcher game, which she donated to Tzuyu, who accepted it gratefully.

Jeongyeon bought a tiny Sailor Moon doll from one of the capsule machines. “I got Sailor Uranus!” She held the doll up high for the others to see. The short-haired anime character looked remarkably like herself.

At the game arcade, Nayeon and Jihyo played a close match against Jeongyeon and Chaeyoung, who beat them in a close match at a team rhythm game. They went out for ramen for lunch, during which Nayeon was busy Instagramming her food.

Finally, at the last stop for the day, the group arrived at Shibuya Crossing, admiring and photographing the the massive crosswalk of Tokyo pedestrians at night, illuminated by vivid lights and splashy neon signs. 

Jeongyeon and Nayeon decided to rest at a cafe while the others went to look at a nearby department store. Both tired from the walk, they browsed social media on their phones at the table together. Jeongyeon silently stifled a laugh, probably at a funny new meme she came across.

Just as Nayeon was about to take her first sip of matcha latte, the headache struck again. Her vision clouded over. Two visions in one day? The frequency was unprecedented.

 

The scene seemed to pick up directly where she left off, as if resuming a movie that was paused. That same place, standing in front of _her_ on the top floor observation deck overlooking the beautiful night above Tokyo, dotted with color. Here again? She couldn’t shake the same dream-like quality about being there. She couldn’t believe this was possibly real.

“I…I’ve always wished,” Nayeon began to say, not sure why her own lips were speaking words at all. It was somewhat like watching from a theater, observing a character speak lines on screen. “We were something more.”

Momo hung attentively onto every word she said, regarding Nayeon as if she were her only hope, her life vest, her jokbal.

But they were close, much too close. Time appeared to slow down. The rest of her sentence didn’t come out, because Momo’s lips were unexpectedly locked against hers.  

At first, this was no doubt a nervous kind of contact, slow yet sudden. But gradually she felt herself melt against her touch, soften against the contact of her skin. Did Momo have the scent of...peaches? This was the highest of highs, a mind-scrambling moment that could make her press pause on her entire life, forcing even a self-assured person like Im Nayeon to reconsider her entire purpose.

If her purpose meant being right here in this moment, for just a little bit longer, holding tightly onto the back of Momo’s varsity jacket, with strands of Momo’s long hair grazing her cheek, she could be happy...

 

The scene ended as abruptly as it started, enveloped by faint fog. With the sounds of the crowd filtering back in, the faint noise of the cars in the street, she found herself landing straight back in the real world.

Nayeon’s eyes widened in shock. She covered her face in embarrassment.

_Did...Momo and I just kiss??_

Quivering, she touched her fingers to her lips, which tingled with a burning sensation. Almost like this just happened in real life.

 _Aish, calm down Nayeon. You’re the queen. You can’t get worked up over this one little scene. How do I even know this will come true?_ Though deep down, she knew all the visions had always happened in real life, Nayeon didn’t dare to believe this could happen.

“Hey you, what’s wrong?” Jeongyeon, still sitting in the chair opposite, looked oddly concerned at her.

“Nothing’s wrong. What’s wrong with your face?” she retorted too quickly, on the defensive after the somewhat-very-embarrassing vision she just had.

“Um, wow sorry I asked,” Jeongyeon rolled her eyes. “You just look spaced out, and you’ve been acting weird all day. I thought you’d be happy being in Tokyo and going with us to the concert.”

“Of course I am,” Nayeon asserted indignantly, her face glowing pink. “Aren’t we? Look, I even bought fifteen scented eye mask packs and ten foot patches at Don Quixote today and it’s gonna keep me in stock for a long time,” She opened the shopping bag to prove it.

“Alright,” Jeongyeon chuckled, evidently deciding that Nayeon wasn’t going to spill the beans.

Having responded to Jeongyeon’s text asking for their whereabouts, the other girls in their party soon appeared at the cafe, bearing bags of shopping loot.

“C’mon, let’s go take pictures by the Hachiko dog statue!!!!” Dahyun was her usual energetic self, possibly even more so this evening.  

“She ate like six green tea Kit-Kats,” Chaeyoung confided to them.

“Dogs are cute,” Tzuyu remarked. “I wanna go too.”

“This one has such a touching story. Let’s go together,” Jihyo tugged Nayeon up from the chair.

Everyone started walking back together towards the statue near Shibuya station. Nayeon’s mind still raced with questions and crazy thoughts.

Despite the eventful day and the hype for the concert tomorrow, for the rest of the night, she could never get that image out of her mind.

 

 

* * *

_hi all, thanks for reading my fic up to this point! let me know if you have any comments or suggestions, I'm always happy to hear from all you lovelies ~_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi all, thanks for reading my fic up to this point! apologies for the upload delay. I have three midterm exams this week T-T but I finally got this chapter up! just a heads up I will be trying to update weekly from now on. let me know if you have any comments or suggestions, I'm always happy to hear from you all lovelies ~


	4. Meeting

“Hey Sana-chan, are you flirting with another girl you’ve got trapped under your spell?” Momo teased. The dancing queen of TWICE playfully swung her arm around Sana’s shoulder to peek at her phone screen.

With the last of the concert preparations in place, the day of the concert finally arrived. The legendary J-trinity—Sana, Momo, and Mina—were in the van en route to the venue to prepare for the final rehearsals before tonight’s concert.

“Ya, it’s not like that this time,” Sana crossed her arms, huffing while she pretended to glower out the window. “I was just texting my friend.”

“Tell me her name at least,” Momo grinned, not convinced in the slightest.

Sana bit at the air and held her hands limp like paws, pretending to be a mischievous puppy. She stuck out her tongue.

“Nope.”  

Yesterday, when manager-san first told Sana the phone number of the ONCE winner to text, she had no idea what to expect. After the initial exchange, she couldn’t help but feel intrigued by whoever this Dahyun girl was.

As the cutie-sexy queen of TWICE, Sana met more than her fair share of devoted fans, crazy fans, lovesick fans, you name it. But even through the ambiguity of messaging a certain anonymous fan, a sense of…mysterious intrigue tugged at her inside. This fangirl had piqued her curiosity.

Needless to say, the _ping_ of a new message on her phone gave Sana a tiny surge of glee, and she had just been about to open it when Momo had interrupted her.

“Don’t be such a tease,” Momo arched an eyebrow at her.

“Sana-chan will tell us when she’s ready,” Mina observed with casual amusement, by now used to the comings and goings of her fellow member’s colorful love life.

Despite the early hours of the morning, the members felt charged with excitement for their first comeback of the year. Today would finally be the day they stepped into the immense stadium, greeted to the enthusiastic cheers from an ocean of supportive ONCEs, and give tonight’s performance their all. The day when the long hours of practicing in the studio would be worth it. To Sana, a comeback always felt familiar yet brand new at the same time, the way spring arrives every year to announce a fresh start.  

Noticing a second notification from her phone, Sana opened a new message from their manager.

 

 _manager-san:_ it’s our first one on one fan meeting like this, so let’s do our best to welcome them

 

Sana knew he was referring to the opportunity to win hearts over with their powerful idol charisma at the special fan meeting today, the chance she would meet that strange girl she had been texting.

“I hope they like us,” Mina timidly put her index fingers together. The new song choreography gave Mina a particularly difficult yet impressive solo maneuver, and she worked especially hard the past few weeks to nail it down.

“Darling, why they are going to looove you,” Momo abandoned sulky Sana and wrapped Mina up in a hug. “I’ve seen the way you move.”

At her senpai’s cheerfulness, Mina couldn’t help but give a tiny smile.

As they were getting out of the car, Sana couldn’t resist and finally opened the message from earlier. The chat was from a new number. With her pulse quickening, she had a feeling who this could be.

 

 _adorkable.dubu:_ TWICE hwaiting!

(switching to Japanese)

 _adorkable.dubu:_ ~Sana ganbatte~

(Intrigued, Sana couldn’t resist a smile. Her devotion was so adorable.)

 _fiftyshadesofsana:_ are you the same ONCE from yesterday? your username is different

 _adorkable.dubu:_ Yep it’s me Dahyun

 _adorkable.dubu:_ yesterday I stole my friend’s phone keke. She’s coming to the concert too!

 _fiftyshadesofsana:_ So Dahyun, your real nickname is ‘dubu’?

 _adorkable.dubu:_ yes, because you make my heart soft like tofu  <3

 

 _Who does this girl think she is?_ Sana’s eyes grew wide with delight, taken aback by this fangirl’s boldness. _And I thought I was the flirting expert!_

“Sana, we’re on a schedule here,” Momo yelped, having already exited the car with Mina.

“Oh, of course I knew that,” Sana put her phone away reluctantly. Nothing could slip past the watchful eyes of her keen-eyed but well-meaning TWICE members; Momo and Mina’s unmistakable smirks said it all.  Sana had always been a notorious heartbreaker. Everywhere she went, she left a trail of lovesick girls in her wake. Was this happening all over again? She might, no definitely, was more absent minded than usual.

Random stray memories of her past dalliances with girls as famous as Eunha or SinB of Gfriend came back to her suddenly, along with the regrets of the past of what could have been. Fun times certainly came and went, but this year with a new comeback, could Sana finally try to...clean up her act? Get more serious?

She found herself already sitting in the dressing room chair.

“And how is Sana-san doing today? I’m just going to start with your base makeup…” Her usual makeup artist, Ayako, chattered on cheerfully as she expertly prepared her makeup.

“I’m lovely as always, and I must say your new haircut looks extra kawaii today, Ayako-chan,” Sana chirped, catching her eye in the mirror. _Damn it_ . _Stop flirting_. Sometimes Sana could unintentionally revert to this default mode just to hide her inner feelings.

“Oh thank you, Sana-san,” Ayako blushed and tugged at her hair locks, abashed that someone as important as Sana would take notice of small details, as she continued to apply Sana’s makeup. Perhaps to her members she was an intimate sister and definitely a clumsy dork; but otherwise, Sana inevitably commanded a charming effect on people, regardless of gender, as though the purity of her natural cuteness could hold powerful sway in the spotlight.

Her look was nearly complete. Stray thoughts of long lost love affairs aside, today’s rehearsal had to go smoothly, the choreo had to be flawless, and the vocals in perfect harmony. Mentally, she ran over the familiar lyrics now etched into her mind. With the heightened competition this year, no doubt the stakes were high.

Not that Sana didn’t still possess the passion for performance, three years after TWICE’s debut, but sometimes Sana just longed for a person she could hold onto a little longer, a special someone cheering her on in the crowd, her beloved “one in a million”...

“Oh there you are,” her manager, Pinky-san, came into the room. “You’ll take some time to greet the fans right now, won’t you?”

No, now was definitely not the time to get hung up over her exes or long for new love, not today of all days. Sana joined Momo and Mina out on the rehearsal set. The three girls huddled together to discuss stage plans. The conversation then turned to the fan meeting.

“They’re bringing the contest winner fans in now,” Momo whispered to her.

“The fans will be given places to sit during the final rehearsal,” Pinky-San, looking quite erratic from all the preparations to be made, explained to them while giving them a check-over.

Sana’s heart skipped a beat as the ONCEs came through the back door, ushered in by stage crew. She gave them a friendly wave from across the room. The fans sat down at benches by the wall, being instructed by the manager how the rehearsal format will proceed. Sana eyed them thoroughly. Six fangirls sat down, all flew in from Korea; one of them must certainly  be the fangirl she was texting earlier.

The tallest member to the left, perhaps Chinese or Taiwanese Sana guessed, was whispering to a girl with big, bright eyes. Next to them, a trio of Korean girls were laughing at a joke told by a girl with short blonde hair. Lastly, at the end of the row, Sana spotted a pretty fangirl eagerly looking in her direction. Unable to see their name tags or faces properly from the distance across the wide studio, Sana started texting Mina and Momo who were now sitting down at directors chairs closer to the ONCEs.

 

 _fiftyshadesofsana:_ the one I like is really cute over chat okay o( ><;)o

 _secretlifeofpenguins:_ I think I know which one she is. on the far right, really pale skin?

 _secretlifeofpenguins:_  they’re wearing name tags. you like the one named Dahyun right?

(Sana discretely glanced over and realized she was exactly the one she had noticed coming in.)

 _fiftyshadesofsana:_ ….

 _fiftyshadesofsana:_ she is so kawaii.

 _donttouchmyjokbal:_ aww look she’s so little

 _donttouchmyjokbal:_ mina I swear you know everything

 _fiftyshadesofsana:_ Imma talk to her first

 _fiftyshadesofsana:_ she is getting the sana treatment

 _secretlifeofpenguins:_ what is that even supposed to mean ^^;

(Mina looked up at Sana, who winked back.)

 

The members walked over to the bench to greet the ONCEs. The fans each held a Candy Pop album, excitedly awaiting their autographs.

Upon closer meeting, Sana is met with the cutest girl she’s ever seen. With milky pale skin and and a quirky eye smile that was hard to miss, this girl was undeniably the most adorable person in the room. The fangirl’s nervous grin couldn’t hide her excitement. Sana dragged her gaze over her soft complexion and those sleek cheekbones, absentmindedly wondering what it would be like to caress them.

Her lip curled. _So this is my Dahyun, eh?_ As an expert in all things aegyo, Sana could turn up the cute charm when she felt the need. Her eyes twinkled with a mischievous glint.

“Hi there. You must be Dahyun.”

Sana’s own boldness could still surprise her. Her wide eyed direct stare made the girl named Dahyun blush and look down bashfully. Mina observed her with a side glance and could no doubt tell that her unnie had some serious intent.

Inside, her heart thudded like a taiko drum.

The moment Sana laid eyes upon Kim Dahyun, she knew she had to have this girl all for herself.

 

* * *

 

 

Mina tilted her head in disbelief at Sana’s behavior. Sometimes, she could act so obvious, like a hopeless puppy in love. She seemed to really hit it off with the girl named Dahyun, so Mina decided to let the two have a private moment.  

Leaning on Momo’s shoulder, Mina turned her attention at the gaggle of remaining fangirls, who were whispering and nudging each other to decide who to approach first. Unlike Sana, Mina didn’t typically fall for anyone so easily, but she did long for fresh interactions with new friends. Despite her oft reserved exterior, the quiet yet elegant member of TWICE was always happy to meet fans.

“Mina, that Korean girl is giving me a really intense stare,” Momo whispered out the side of her mouth. “The one with the bunny teeth.”

Mina scrutinized the pack with sharp eyes, and noticed one certain fangirl who kept pretending to look around but edge ever closer towards Momo. Her name tag read ‘Nayeon’.

“She must want your autograph.”

Grinning, Mina gave Momo a little nudge in Nayeon’s direction.

“Could you sign this please?”

Mina turned around and was met with a pair of bright, almond-shaped eyes. With long, raven-black locks and a cute dimpled smile reminiscent of a tiger cub, this fangirl was without a doubt the most adorable person Mina had ever seen. After a split second, she caught her breath.

“S-sure,” Mina returned her smile politely, momentarily dazed by this sudden impact of cuteness. She took the album and readied her pen. “Who should I make this out to?”

“Chaeyoung. My name is Son Chaeyoung,” the girl smiled shyly but still spoke her name with confidence, trying hard to contain her happiness.

 _To Chaeyoung, all the best from Mina~_ Mina scrawled a brief message and her signature on the cover, handing it back with a small bow. Chaeyoung accepted it graciously, bowing back.

“I...brought something for you too,” she hesitated timidly before unfolding a small square of paper. Mina opened it curiously and found a cartoon drawing of a penguin wearing a fuzzy hat, labelled “Myoui Mina ♡”, and signed with an artfully messy signature.

“Wah, I love it!” Mina, touched by the gesture, slipped the drawing into her jacket pocket and winked.

“Thanks!...” Chaeyoung blushed, shuffled her feet, and looked like she wanted to say more. Admittedly, this prolonged eye contact made Mina more enchanted by this girl with every passing second.

“Attention everyone, the fansign is over. Members, please, to your positions!” the stage manager’s voice interrupted the moment. “Let’s clear the area, ONCEs, please you can watch the rehearsal from those seats over there.”

Mina spared one last glance at Chaeyoung, who waved shyly back and mouthed, “Good luck!” Mina couldn’t stop smiling as she took position at center stage next to Sana and Momo. What was this little fangirl doing to her? She bit her lower lip in anticipation.

 

As the music started, she shifted her focus to the performance. True to form, the members moved in one cohesive unit in perfect sync with the melodious beats of the song “Candy Pop”. After many hours of practice in the studio, the steps, the movements, and the notes came naturally to Mina, like second nature. Since they were singing live, there was even more to keep track of to maintain proper pitch and harmony while still in flawless step with the dance.

As a natural dancer and singer with a voice as soft and ethereal as gossamer web, Mina performed with classic finesse. The whole time, Chaeyoung never once took her eyes off her. While Mina still maintained focus, she could nonetheless feel the fangirl’s awed gaze on her, encouraging her on to perform even better.

Her cheeks flushed a slight pink as the chorus ended and she mentally prepared herself for the difficult part of the choreography. She steeled herself to get ready to spin, leap, and…

 

The sudden tug by her feet caught her off guard and made her slip. The ground came at her much too fast, too quickly. At first, she wasn’t aware of any sensation but then realized she was actually lying on the ground. Her leg was bent at an odd angle and she couldn’t move it at all. Dazed, she looked beside her and immediately identified a thick plastic wire close to the ground, transparent in color, as the culprit behind her fall. How had no one noticed that before?

“Mina, you’re bleeding,” Momo’s voice was a concerned hush.

Her fellow members rushed to her. The music stopped.

“Oh my god, get the medical crew in here,” one of the crew yelled. “There was a major stage malfunction.”

“Why is there a wire here? Who put this here? How could you all make such a careless mistake,” the manager roared at the crew, his voice anxious with worry as he strode over to Mina.

“Hey, wait for the medical team,” a crew member cautioned someone else approaching. “Get back you, stage members only, hey!”

Mina looked up with blurry vision. That same pair of beautiful almond eyes blinked at her. Chaeyoung was crouched right beside Mina, as Sana and Momo stood nearby stunned, unable to stop her. Chaeyoung laid her hands on Mina’s injured leg, murmuring some strange words Mina could only hear fragments of. She didn’t like to cry in front of everyone, and bit her lip to hold back the threat of tears.At the warmth of her touch, Mina relaxed slightly despite the throbbing pain intensifying in her twisted leg.

The strands of something like invisible energy emitted a strong heat, along with almost a glow of light, though perhaps Mina was imagining things now. Chaeyoung seemed to be concentrating hard, her brow furrowed, and her expression concerned yet patient. What exactly was this girl doing? It seemed a little crazy, but Mina couldn’t help but feel safe, like being in the arms of an experienced doctor, even though this girl couldn’t possibly be older than twenty.

Gradually, the pain shifted bit by bit until it faded away completely. Mina watched in utter disbelief as the gash where she also scraped her shin began to mend before her eyes. Slowly, astonishingly, she moved her knee back to its normal position without discomfort. The leg injury plaguing her only a minute ago didn’t seem to be there anymore, but how was that possible?

“Did...did you just…?” Mina whispered, words failing her. Chaeyoung lightly put a finger to her lips, as though she didn’t dare to say more at the moment.

“Is she okay? What’s happened?” Pinky-san finally got to the circle of concerned onlookers.

Mina slowly got to her feet, helped up by Chaeyoung. “I’m okay now,” she said firmly, to the surprise of everyone who witnessed the scene. Sana and Momo stared speechless, then at each other in relief.

Still breathing shallowly, Mina met Chaeyoung’s eyes. A silent trust hung in the air. Without intention, she found herself linked to an unspoken secret, bonded as though by fate. Who was this mysterious gifted girl named Chaeyoung?  She was certainly no ordinary individual. Despite not fully understanding what had just happened between them, Mina felt a wave of immense gratitude. An inexplicable warmth spread through her for her savior of the moment, beginning to melt even the ice fortress that was her heart.   

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

**\\\**

 

**ah this chapter was longer than I expected, the busyness of schoolwork caught to with me lately but I will try my best to keep weekly updates. There will definitely be a continuation of Saida interaction details in the next chapter, (originally wanted to include Dahyun's POV here too but decided to edit a bit more with it for next time), along with what happens to Michaeng. Thanks for reading and appreciate your patience in waiting :)**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \\\
> 
> ah this chapter was longer than I expected, the busyness of schoolwork caught to with me lately but I will try my best to keep weekly updates. but there most definitely be a continuation of Saida interaction in the next chapter, along with what happens to Michaeng. Thanks for reading and appreciate your patience in waiting :)


	5. Clean Up

Across the rehearsal studio, the circle around Mina and Chaeyoung had started to disperse as medical staff on standby kept checking with Mina to ensure she was okay. The baffled manager asked Chaeyoung some questions, watched by supportive Nayeon and Jihyo.

Meanwhile, a certain pair met up coincidentally at the snacks table. Well, perhaps this was not a coincidence.

After the mini heart attack of the initial conversation from earlier, Dahyun’s heart still pounded from the encounter. The day started with excitement. She woke up hyper that day at about four am, so excited to meet TWICE. Then her hotel roommates Tzuyu and Chaeyoung threw a pillow over her head and told her to go back to sleep.

Then the anticipated arrival to the studio with her friends, and finally the divine encounter she kept replaying in her mind: the moment Sana first walked up to her and their all-too-brief but wonderful nonetheless conversation. _You must be Dahyun…I really enjoyed chatting with you, that was you wasn’t it?..._ Believe it or not, Sana had approached her first and remembered her name. Dahyun. Tender and friendly words that Dahyun could not believe came out her idol and ultimate role model Sana’s mouth, acknowledging her existence.

She most likely would’ve fainted straight away if it wasn’t for grabbing the sleeves of Jeongyeon and Chaeyoung closest to her. It was difficult to control her internal fangirl freak out from meeting Sana in person for the first time, certainly different from chatting, or seeing her on the internet and social media, or following her on live streams.

Quite frankly, Dahyun found Sana a million times more beautiful and captivating in real life up close, as if an angel descended from heaven and stood only a few feet away. Their conversation ended all too quickly due to the rehearsal beginning. She could’ve sworn Sana looked disappointed they couldn’t talk for longer.

Dahyun sat next to Chaeyoung during the performance and the chaos of the accident. Afterwards, Dahyun couldn’t find her friends in the swarm of people crowding the studio, so she decided to drink some juice from the refreshments table to clear her thoughts.

Just as she reached for a cup, a cheery voice called out, “Hi again!”

Dahyun froze, turned to ice. Sana was actually approaching her. This was surreal. A slight awkward pause hung in the air, at first neither sure what to say to the other.

“That was so scary back there. I was really worried Mina was hurt,” Sana spoke hesitantly and tilted her head.

“Me too,” Dahyun remembered seeing Mina fall on the stage, then a small crowd of people encircling the scene, and due to her shorter stature, unable to see what was happening through the chaos. “I couldn’t see what happened, but it looked like she recovered so quickly.”

“It was all thanks to your friend.”

“My friend?”

“Yes, the girl with long hair and checkered shirt? She was sitting near you when it happened,” Sana raised her eyebrows in surprise that Dahyun didn’t know what happened.

“Chaeyoung??”

Sana nodded in awe. “Is she a doctor in training? I’ve never seen anyone recover from a severe injury so fast before. Your friend has a gift.”

“Chaeyoung’s a graphic design student,” A lapse of confusion crossed Dahyun’s mind, but this was overridden by the fact that she was having an actual, face to face conversation with Minatozaki Sana. She was surprisingly easy to talk to, and quite possibly the sweetest, most friendly idol (and first ever idol) Dahyun ever met.

“Well if you see her again, tell her I said thank you. We were all so concerned about Mina.”

 It couldn’t possibly be her imagination that Sana was sending (what could only be described as) "heart eyes" to her right now. The kind of loving gaze reserved for a ONCE she genuinely cared about. Did her gaze just flicker lower? Dahyun’s pulse raced as she could swear for a split second that Sana licked her lips.

The distance between them was so close she hoped Sana wouldn’t hear her loud heartbeat hammering away inside her rib cage. Despite the background noise, she could hear her steady and gentle breath. Dahyun blinked twice to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.

“Whoops!”

Sana bumped the table, one of those wobbly folding types, a little too hard. From the impact, the line of filled juice cups all knocked over like a line of falling dominos, some getting knocked to the floor. The resulting splash stained Sana’s jacket. The puddle spread on the floor, pooling at their feet. Startled, they both took a step back out of the liquid mess.

“Oh no! Your jacket!” Dahyun pointed at the spreading stain, starkly apparent on Sana’s stage costume.

“Aish, clumsy me,” she put a hand to her mouth, mortified.

Dahyun started to help her pick up the cups. “I’m so sorry, I probably distracted you.”

“Don’t be, I’m really clumsy sometimes,” Sana gave a sheepish smile of embarrassment. Dahyun bent down by the table, beside Sana, to gather up more cups which fell underneath. The awkwardness between virtual strangers returned, hanging stagnant in the air. There wasn’t anything to do about the puddle, so both did their best to avoid stepping in it.

Trying to stand up suddenly, Sana nearly bumped her head on the table. Dahyun quickly caught her arm to prevent her from hurting herself. “Careful, unnie,” she whispered. Catching her eye, they both burst into silent laughter at the silliness of their current predicament and the awkwardness fizzled out. _Sana looked so cute when she giggled,_ Dahyun found herself thinking.

“I’m glad Momo and Mina aren’t here to scold me,” Sana was almost talking to herself. She brushed aside a lock of hair.

Dahyun caught a trace of her perfume (or was it her shampoo?), unexpectedly intoxicated by the scent, refreshing and feminine with a hint of strawberries or perhaps raspberries. 

A sharp intake of breath. Truth be told, she only wanted to be closer. The Gift could be difficult to hold back. An uncontrollable impulse, like an instantaneous reflex. Her feelings acted like a catalyst, pushed beyond the edge of what she intended. This wasn’t something she was supposed to show.

Dahyun swallowed hard, her eagle vision started to focus without her conscious awareness. The dark stain on Sana’s jacket started to shrink, the mark fading back to the jacket’s normal shade of candy apple red. At first, Sana didn’t notice the difference, still busy cleaning up the mess and putting the cups back upright on the table.

The puddle also started to shrink rapidly, drying up like being evaporated at super speed. In fact, within a few seconds, there wasn’t a single spilled drop on the ground. Sana set down the last of the cups and froze.

“Whaaaaaaa,” she did a double take and stared at Dahyun, dumbstruck. “How, how did this just disappear?”

Her voice dry, darting her eyes back and forth from the ground to the table, which was perfectly clean and back to normal. Sana patted her dry jacket in amazement.

Dahyun sweat nervously. “Uhh…”

“Did you make that happen?” Sana asked, amazed, her eyes as big as dinner plates. She certainly wasn’t as slow as she was stereotyped to be.

Wordlessly, Dahyun nodded.

There was a brief pause. Dahyun shut her eyes and waited for the inevitable. Maybe Sana would think she was some strange freak, maybe she’d never want to talk to her again…The dreaded moment never came.

“Thanks.”

Dahyun opened her eyes with a tentative gulp.

“You’re a real mystery, Dahyun,” Sana smiled, shaking her head. She was surprised to say the least but happy nonetheless.

“I didn’t mean to-” Dahyun began, her tongue twisted in a knot. What kind of excuse was she supposed to make? She just didn’t know what to do because no one else ever found out about her special ability before. She felt trapped in a conundrum, hesitant to reveal a secret side of herself nobody knew about.

“Don’t worry. You don’t need to explain,” Sana noticed her distress. “I understand completely.”

“Really?” A wave of relief washed over her.

Sana nodded sagely. “I’ve heard stories about people like you. Once, my middle school friend changed the color of tea from black to green…”

She lapsed into a long-winded tangent about various supernatural events she had witnessed in her life. Dahyun nodded along, a bit perplexed, but mostly amused by this charming girl’s somewhat scattered story. Simultaneously, she felt relieved at Sana’s totally natural acceptance of what just occurred.

“So,” Sana concluded. “Your secret is safe with me.”

She laid a hand on Dahyun’s shoulder, rubbing reassuring circles with her thumb. Dahyun flinched, but quickly felt reassured by an unexplainable sense of safety, of security, like this could feel just right. She smiled back, nervously at first.

“It’s…” Sana whispered in her ear, leaning into her shoulder. Dahyun’s knees suddenly went weak. Every syllable, slow and deliberate, was another twist to her gut, another magnetic pulse to her heart. “...Just...between...us.”

“Yo! Sana there you are!” Momo’s relieved voice called out from the throng of people. Sana and Dahyun immediately broke apart, with Dahyun twirling a lock of hair around her finger and Sana smiling guiltily in greeting as Momo came over.

“Sana what are you doing over here?” Momo looked worried. “Let’s go, we have to go find Pinky-san and Mina.”

Then, as if noticing Dahyun for the first time, her brain began to put two and two together as her expression drew into a sly grin at the sight of the two. “Come on now.”

“Uh, well I hope you enjoy the performance,” Sana managed to get out before Momo started dragging her away. “I’ll be there!” (surely she was stating the obvious)

“...Bye,” Dahyun replied softly, her hand raised in farewell. She let her eyes linger on one last meaningful gaze with Sana.

Tonight’s concert was going to be interesting to say the least.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this brief interaction was supposed to be part of last Ch (Ch 4) but decided to work a bit longer on detailing this section and upload it now. So it’s shorter length, more like a Ch 4.5. More details to come planned for future chapters. It’s not much, but I hope this humble section can satisfy some Saida shippers’ appetite for the time being.
> 
>  


	6. Lights Out

Yes, the doors were finally opening to let the fans in. The crowd pushed forward.

“YAAY!” The two youngest of the group, Dahyun and Tzuyu, screamed happily. Dahyun waved her Sana edition Candy Bong up and down.

“Wish I had a Momo Candy Bong,” Nayeon gazed wistfully at Dahyun’s.

Despite the four hour long wait, Chaeyoung was giddy with excitement alongside her friends. They’d been waiting in line with other ONCEs outside in the freezing weather since three o’clock that afternoon. Never once had she been more grateful for remembering to bring her fuzzy gloves today.

The incident from yesterday stayed fresh and surreal in her memory. Mina’s expression of surprise and the chaos of the performance's end came to her all in a blur of events. Never once had Chaeyoung demonstrated her Gift in public like this before, but she couldn’t just stand by while Mina got hurt. It took many half-truths while explaining to the manager that yes, she really was trained in first aid from working at a summer camp once, but at the same time she couldn't reveal the full extent of her abilities. In the end, everyone seemed convinced Chaeyoung just happened to be there, at the right place and right time. After a thorough check up by the medical team, Mina’s soft eyes spoke a thousand gratitudes. Chaeyoung just wanted her to be safe and healthy, and support her a hundred and ten percent through her performance. If only they had the chance to meet again...  

Chaeyoung didn’t see any of the behind-the-scenes after they left, but only heard from Dahyun that Mina's recovery went smoothly and the performance would go as planned tonight. (“Sana is secretly texting me but pleeease don’t tell everyone yet, okay?” Dahyun pleaded with Chaeyoung, who nodded silently. Their friendship bond went back years, so Dahyun and Chaeyoung could trust each other with anything. Well, almost everything. Dahyun didn’t know about Chaeyoung’s Gift and little did Chaeyoung know her own friend was more than met the eye.)

Mina’s eyes told Chaeyoung the truth. In that moment, when their gaze met, Chaeyoung knew she knew. Would anything change after this? Mina was an idol, with a busy life and bright future. It was enough that Chaeyoung felt useful in this world, no matter the risks she took when doing something unexpected.

The roar of the crowd brought Chaeyoung back to the present. The stadium lights dimmed and a sea of candy pink lit up the darkness.

“I wonder how they’ll make their entrance compared to last year’s?”

“Ow, calm down Dahyun, your waving light stick almost took my eye out!”

“Shh it’s about to start!”

With a sensation of butterflies in her stomach, Chaeyoung looked towards the stage along with every fan in the packed stadium.

The stage decor dazzled her eyes with neon flashing lights. The whimsical twirly 'T' logo lit up in colors of bubblegum pink and pastel yellow. Matching with their comeback song, cute candy art of animated lollipops and hearts cascaded down the stage backdrop.

Suddenly the spotlights switched on as the three members of TWICE rose dramatically from the floor of the stage. Even from a distance, there was no mistaking the beautiful silhouettes of Mina, Sana, and Momo in the darkness standing with striking poses. The deafening roar of the crowd made the sensitive student want to cover her ears, but now she was too excited to care.

"Hold me, this can't be real," Dahyun almost fell into her arms, practically swooning.   

The music started and the main lights flooded the stage with a dramatic click as the performance began.

"I could DIE happy!!!" Nayeon yelped, though no one could hear her over the pulsating beats that went pit-a-pat through the concert hall.

Mina moved with a true beauty and grace she had never seen the likes of which before. Every step, every practiced and easy movement made her fall for her a little deeper. If Chaeyoung knew Mina was her bias in TWICE before this performance only confirmed it.

With her friends, there in the dark swallowed up by an ocean of glorious pink, Chaeyoung couldn’t be happier.

 

* * *

 

Exactly three hours later, Chaeyoung never thought she'd be face to face with Myoui Mina in the flesh again. Much to the group's surprise, Jeongyeon told everyone they got the chance to meet TWICE again backstage after the concert today as an extra bonus to winning the tickets, after a last minute text from the manager. Needless to say, the fangirls were overjoyed at this unexpected news and Nayeon nearly fainted into Jeongyeon's arms, much to Jeongyeon's annoyance.

After the flurry of activity to join the members backstage, which went by in a blur of memory for Chaeyoung, she was seeing eye to eye with Mina.

Did she seem vulnerable, more real, a more bit tired than yesterday, understandably after the fall? Nonetheless, she radiated friendliness and warmth. Even up close and under the soft glow of the dressing room lights, Mina's beauty was breathtaking, her delicate demeanor like that of another world.

"Thanks...for saving me yesterday," Mina's words broke the silence. Chaeyoung shifted from foot to foot, a sensation of nervousness gripped her stomach. Her mind was racing, wondering what to say.  “I never got a chance to properly thank you.”

“It’s nothing.” She averted her eyes for a brief moment, her natural tendency to hide what was always there just surfacing again.

“Is it?” Mina spoke softly. “You’re someone special.” She took a step closer, her curious expression probing Chaeyoung for truth. Those velvet brown eyes that could melt her into a puddle and vaporize her on the spot.

“I-I’m no one really,” Chaeyoung stammered, suddenly on the defensive. Simultaneously afraid yet longing for someone, just someone, to finally understand her, Chaeyoung felt torn.

“No, you’re someone,” Mina insisted. “You did something different.”

Chaeyoung opened her mouth to speak, she was going to spill it all. Deep down she felt a sense of trust, even if she could only be as distant as an admired artist, she felt she could trust her. Mina had a lovely calmness to her, cozy as finally arriving home after a long winter's night. That’s it, Chaeyoung was tired of hiding who she was from almost everybody.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to talk about it,” Mina dropped her eyes, seeing Chaeyoung's reluctance.

"No, you're right," Chaeyoung looked up, her mind made up.

She would tell Mina everything. But as soon as she drew breath, before she could speak...

Abruptly, and without warning, the lights went off. The sudden darkness threw her off guard and the words caught in her throat.

A loud boom made them jump. The sound of a heavy door slammed in the distance, crashing unpleasantly against her eardrums.

Fearful shouts and distant voices began to echo down the hallway. A sudden fear gripped Chaeyoung, though she couldn't explain it. Just a gut feeling, a terrible dread of things to come. Her imagination getting the better of her, she envisioned a many-armed thing, simultaneously a manifestation of evil and complete absence of good, its crawling arms reaching out to capture them, harm _Mina_. All in all, a sense of foreboding of things not good, but very near.

Her worries crept in like small waves on the shore, slowly but surely swelling into a tide.

"Where are you?" Mina asked, her soft voice like a beacon of hope in the shadowy unknown.

"I'm here," Chaeyoung found herself saying steadily, hoping she could pretend to be brave, for Mina's sake.  

Mina’s hand found hers in the darkness, gripped together like two survivors lost at sea who could count on only each other. The warmth of this simple connection calmed her, if only a little.

Suddenly, she didn’t feel so scared anymore.

 

* * *

 

Cheerful, lighthearted conversation filled the reception room after the concert.

Sana wasn’t sure what to say to her. In the beginning, Sana thought she might be getting somewhere. But the closer she got, the more inexplicably afraid she became. Like going down a road she knew she couldn’t turn back from. She didn’t want to hurt this girl, who probably hadn’t ever felt the pain of true heartbreak.

In the end, it didn’t matter that Dahyun was quite possibly a magical girl who had the strange superpower to make juice evaporate into thin air as though it were an ordinary occurrence for her. Sana wasn’t intimidated by the promise of the unknown.

In fact, she felt the exact opposite. She had this immeasurable quality, unlike anyone Sana had ever met in her entire life. And she had met so many glamorous people in the small but exclusive social circles of fame and high achievement as a Japanese superstar, but this girl was something else. At first glance, Dahyun was your ordinary college student. Pretty and outgoing among her friends, but not necessarily someone picked out from the crowd as fantastic and just plain  _extraordinary_. The vanishing juice incident only reaffirmed her suspicions. Sana could sense she was one of a kind, that rare person who walks into your life once and would never have the chance to appear again. 

The fangirls overcame their initial shyness. Sana found them cute, and they surprisingly reminded herself of her old days. Fandom was a place Sana remembered from not too long ago, when she was just a junior high girl with big city dreams, idolizing the previous gen groups, followed by the surreal experience of passing that spring audition and training desperately hard for two years before debut. The remainder of her teenage years flew by in a blur on TWICE’s way to the top of the charts.

“Wha,  we were just talking about how much we really loved your latest magazine concept,” the girl with bunny teeth, Nayeon, declared.

“Is it true you visited Paris recently?” The tallest girl asked politely.

“Yes, we were just there for a CF filming,” Sana answered.

“We heard rumors.. “ The one named Jeongyeon interrupted, before becoming embarrassed. She blurted out, “Did you really go skydiving in your CF?”

Sana tried not to giggle. They were really too cute and it pleased her to speaking to new people so refreshing and young, not the kind of unpleasant celebrities she encountered far too often, squeezed into the limelight at an early age and forced to grow up too fast, groomed for the camera with an all-too-superficial personality. No, these girls just enjoyed their youth like the fans they were. Their laughter sparkled like bells, light and full of life and color, refreshing to hear like cold soda. She could feel the exhaustion evaporating out of her with every passing moment, the energy returning to her like the hope from her trainee days.

“Yes, of course we did,” she replied, her old grin returning to her, all mischievous and ambiguous. "You'll see it for yourself on TV soon enough." 

Soon, she couldn’t stop herself from chatting on and on, growing more lively and animated in the fangirls' company. She was never one to care about making a fool of herself, having long ago blurred the distinctions between her public and personal self.

The mature girl named Jihyo, peppered them with questions and seemed ever curious to learn about their idol life. Jeongyeon, she noticed, cracked many lame jokes and really reminded her of an old schoolmate. The tall girl named Tzuyu, beautiful but silent, seemed more reserved yet content to laugh at her friends' jokes, occasionally dishing out a well-timed, savage response to her unnie Nayeon's chatter.

But the one she admired most of all stood only a few inches next to her. Sana couldn't risk glancing at her too many times, like the way her mother used to warn her not to look at the sun. But rather than the sun...Kim Dahyun was like the moon, effervescent and bright, friendly while mysterious. In other words, a complete contradiction and an irrepressibly attractive person.

Momo, despite her usually easygoing manner, was most definitely on the alert. If Sana made a brazen move, she'd probably never hear the end of it when they returned to their hotel rooms that evening. 

Every time Jeongyeon made a joke or Momo blurted out something that the managers probably wouldn’t have approved of, when the conversation flowed as easily as sparkling wine, Sana couldn’t help but sneak a sideways glance at the disarmingly beautiful girl to her left, just mere inches away. How desperately she wanted to flirt shamelessly the way she’d done in the recent past, at the endless red carpet galas or variety show receptions. Those were the carefree times when she didn’t give a damn the next day what the tabloids blasted about which new girl she’d be possibly linked to next (some rumors were true and some laughably false).

She was one who always followed her heart and could never give up on her feelings no matter how ridiculous or unobtainable the love may seem. Was she just a desperate, soul-searching romantic at heart? Wishing and wanting, like a young schoolgirl or one of those naive shojo-anime protagonists, because she matured too fast and sought to fall in love for real before the strands of time came to steal the precious times of youth and opportunity away from her? 

Occasionally during conversation, they would bump shoulders or their fingers would graze each other’s by pure accident (or perhaps not). She bit her lip to resist the impulse to seize Dahyun’s hand in hers. 

At moments normal, and other times teetering on awkward when even Sana feared the smooth exterior of her bubbly personality might fall away and someone would know. But then Dahyun would laugh, crazy and honest like one who didn't hold back, and all was right with the world. Sana can’t help but grin back like an idiot with a hopeless crush.

Just as she was talking about their planned schedules: “We’ve been so busy these few weeks preparing for the comeback, but I hope you'll all look forward to our promotion in-”

The lights flickered out. All of sudden, they were enveloped in darkness. This was perhaps the most abrupt of conversation interruptions. It could have been a mere malfunction, a technical mishap. Surely, they were not to be kept like this forever, in a blackness so complete that she couldn’t see her hands in front of her.

The whispers came in, at first with joking and nervous giggling, then with apprehension.

A craving for safety rose up in her. Her hand found Dahyun’s, like the most natural thing. In the darkness, suddenly gripped by a terrible dread, she didn’t want to let her go.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the fic is alive ;;; despite when life gets in the way, I'm definitely going to keep writing this. please enjoy


	7. Escape

Nayeon was the first to check her phone. Holding it up to illuminate the darkness, she could detect the tensed silhouettes of the other six girls huddled in a circle. 

“Is everyone okay?” she breathed, trying to make out their faces in the soft glow.

"Yeah..." Momo whispered beside her, a little shaken. "But what's happened?"

“It’s probably just a power outage,” Jeongyeon spoke up, although she sounded unsure of herself as she also activated her phone’s flashlight.  

Sana's fingers were laced tightly with Dahyun’s, interlocked like a pair of lovers. As the roving beams of cellphone lights searched the darkness, Dahyun embarrassedly let go as if a moment had vanished.

“Where’s Mina and...Chaeyoung?” Sana asked, her demeanor smooth as her eyes scanned the darkened room.  

“I thought I saw them go into the other room a few minutes ago…” Dahyun murmured, turning her head to look around.

“Eotteokhae?” As ridiculous as it seemed, Nayeon wanted to burst into laughter or maybe slap herself on the cheek, because everything seemed so absurd. Maybe this was all a dream. Yet, as goosebumps prickled on her skin, this had to be a situation all too real. She hardly needed additional reminding of the fact that _the_ Hirai Momo, with the body of a Greek goddess and breath sweet from a lollipop she'd finished not a minute ago, was so close next to her that she could hear her soft breathing. Only all too conscious of her proximity to Momo, her one and only idol crush, Nayeon was gripped by simultaneous terror and excitement, a bizarrely inappropriate mixture of reactions to such a dire situation.

Momo gave her a sympathetic look, shrugging her shoulders in reluctant surrender. “We’ll figure this out,” Momo managed a toothy grin despite the grimness of their predicament, patting her reassuringly on the arm. 

With Nayeon’s panic subsiding significantly though still flustered, her mind raced to think of something helpful to contribute. After all, she was the oldest and despite her playful immaturity at times, she wanted what was best for the other girls, and now was the perfect time to showcase her natural leadership (and most importantly, impress Momo).  

Just as she was about to attempt to propose a course of action, a familiar wave of pain and knowledge entered her mind and commanded her present thoughts.   

 

>>>>

_The first thing she can think is: dark and damp. Ick. The drip-drop sounds of water echoed incessantly somewhere, as though she were observing the inside of a humongous cavern. Then, there was a voice._

_“This is not supposed to happen. Never once in three hundred years has it happened before,” a raspy male voice, weak and uncertain, broke the silence._

_A tall hunchbacked man bowed at the foot of a grand, sweeping stone staircase. At the top of the staircase was an enormous stone platform on which stood an ebony black table, elaborately bedecked with spikes like dragon's teeth._

_At the top was another figure. This person if it could be called that, appeared to be female, stood tall and spindly with her hands spread out over the strange table, gazing at its surface intently as though watching something. Was that the skeletal outlines of...wings growing out her back? No, that didn’t seem possible. The woman’s face is half cloaked in shadow, but Nayeon can see her lips are stained ruby red, as though with blood._

_“Remember the year 532 in the Silla Kingdom of Korea? Or who could forget their part in rebellions in 1589 of the Joseon dynasty? The last time the Gifted activated their full power, our forces were nearly destroyed.”_

_“The descendants of the Gifted are nothing more than schoolgirls,” the female figure replied, scornful._

_Her voice dripped with cruelty, with a touch of harsh beauty that cut through the stillness like a jagged knife. “It’s nothing like the times past. Weaker and younger, they’re more vulnerable than ever before. The glory day of their ancestors has long since passed.”_

_“ ‘The transcendent power of the Gifted, hidden but once revealed by the light of true love, cannot be opposed,’ ” The hunchback man quoted. “So says the prophecy of ancient times.”_

_“The army of darkness will be deployed to ensure that absolutely will not happen.” Her eyes flashed with impatient anger, deadly as thorns. “In fact, all of Tokyo will soon be under our control.”_

_“Now, begin the broadcast."_

_“Yes, mistress.”_

>>>

 

“Are you okay?” Momo looked at her with concern. Dizzyingly returning to the present moment, Nayeon looked in her eyes and nodded, though reeling with confusion.

“Can someone...turn on that TV?” she asked weakly, not even sure herself why this would be important. The details of the vision already started to slip away, like the fading memories of a night’s dream. This was not an uncommon occurrence for Nayeon. Sometimes she would forget the vision almost entirely, only remembering the lingering traces of its importance. Reasons weren’t always remembered, just the strong compulsion to know the task that had to be done.

Tzuyu, who was closest to the TV in the room reserved for watching live broadcasts, gave Nayeon an odd look but ran over to switch it on.

Everyone gathered around it, confused and startled by what appeared on the screen.

The video feed was grainy and out of focus, but the sound quality came through crisp and sharp.

“This is a public announcement,” A female voice, mature yet dripping with malice, spoke. Nayeon sensed familiarity from her voice.  

A man sat in a metal panelled room, tied up and blindfolded, with a circular spotlight shining on him. He seemed dazed but unharmed, swaying his head from left to right like a trapped animal.

Momo gave an audible gasp. “It’s Pinky-san!”

"That manager we saw earlier?" Jihyo raised her eyebrows in surprise. Momo nodded, words failing her as her eyes were rooted to the screen in horror.

“Cease all TWICE activities. Do not go to the police,” the voice continued.

Everyone looked at each other, then at Sana and Momo, fearful. Their eyes went wide with shock.

“Or this man’s life ends. Now.” the woman’s voice enunciated every syllable, making it clear she meant business.

Now, the metallic floor opened, with the panels steadily revealing a black pool that surrounded him. Something, or rather many things, lurked in the water.

“He will make a tasty snack for my…pets.”

Nayeon’s ears pricked up from the snapping sounds of piranhas, coupled with the twisting, curling tentacles of something like several giant octopi swimming within. The blindfolded man, sensing the beasts' presence, started thrashing in his chair and made muffled cries for help.

“Oh no!! We have to help him!” Sana burst out, covering her face with her hands. Dahyun patted her reassuringly. though her brow creased with worry.

“We know you have the Gifted ones among you. Turn yourselves in now and this can end,” the voice on the TV broke into wicked laughter, high and cold-blooded. “But report him missing and one of you will be next. Do not think yourselves immune with your powers.”

At the word _Gifted_ , Nayeon swallowed hard and thought she could only mean one thing. But how could anyone possibly know about her future vision?

“Powers? Why would she think we have powers?” She spoke out loud to unload her racing train of thoughts as she did the calculations in her head. _But why would there be more than one, unless more of the other girls are like me too?_ Nayeon didn’t feel any closer to the answers. Yet the fuzzy knowledge of her vision laid upon her the weight of responsibility she felt for the sake of the other girls.

The video cut off with an abrupt click. The huddled group started whispering with frightened tones. Nayeon risked a glance at Momo, whose eyes were still fixed blankly on the black screen.

“Manager senpai.. “ Sana’s pupils shrank in realization. “He went out on a smoke break right before the reception!”

“I keep telling him to quit those things, they’re really bad for his health,” Momo groaned, slapping her forehead.  

“Well, he must’ve gotten kidnapped when he went outside!”

“But that doesn’t explain where are all the staff,” Momo pointed out. “They should be here.”

“No,” A new, quiet voice answered.

Mina and Chaeyoung appeared in the doorway, holding hands to everyone’s shock. Chaeyoung appeared timid though pleased, while Mina spoke with reserved composure, though tiny beads of sweat dotted her brow as she regarded the group.

“We heard people leaving the building. Voices down the hallway from the dressing room-”

“THERE you are! We were so worried!” Sana was already throwing a hug around her before she finished. Mina flushed, looking grateful. Sana’s words came spilling out in a jumble. “There was this really weird broadcast on the TV and it turns out some bad people kidnapped our manager! And we’re trying to figure out what’s going on.”

“Maybe the staff were distracted, because the manager went missing, and got locked out,” Jihyo suggested.

“We can find out,” Momo pulled out her phone to start texting.

“Oh.” Her expression fell. “No signal…”

“Does anyone here have signal?”

Everyone checked their phones with disappointed murmurs.

Tzuyu cradled her arms, sighing as if all hope was lost. Part of Nayeon wanted to reach out, but she knew Tzuyu didn't like getting hugs from her. The potential implications of what the voice meant, who exactly this person was, and how she knew about her power. Not to mention the memories of the vision starting to come back to her...it was all too stressful and unexpected to bear, and during times of stress she craved physical affection.

Momo, seeing Nayeon's downcast expression, linked arms with her. Nayeon managed a smile and felt her spirits lift. Was her heart beating a little faster? _Pit-a-pat, pit-a-pat_.  

“I don’t get it...” Dahyun spoke up for the first time, rubbing her temples in frustration. “So they took him. But they want to stop TWICE."

“She said something about Gifted people. The whole thing is really strange,” Jeongyeon shuffled her feet. “What can we do?”

“Aigo, there’s no way we can’t tell the police,” Jihyo piped up, speaking with a pragmatic air. “Only they can really help us, and we don’t even know who or where this is.”  

“Hey I’ve got an idea, “ Sana’s features suddenly lit up, “Let’s go check down the hall! That hallway leads out to a big garage where all our staff were coming and going. There has to be someone out there who can help us.”

“It’s better than staying in here,” Mina agreed. “It might not be safe.”

 

Outside, the hallway felt eerily empty. The abrupt drop in temperature made Nayeon shiver and pull her red cardigan more closely around her. With the lights off, she was reminded of a long and ominous tunnel, just as scary as the time her friends dared her to go into a haunted house alone. At least tonight, she wasn’t by herself. Their footsteps echoed down the corridor, as the three idol members led the way in the front with their phone flashlights. After finally reaching the exit door, everyone spilled out into the deserted parking garage.

“No one here either,” Chaeyoung pouted. The only vehicle in sight was the enormous TWICE van, black and sleek with tinted windows.

“That’s it, we have to tell someone,” Nayeon ran a hand through her hair, sighing. The feeling of being let down was slowly getting to her, not to mention these strange occurrence that didn’t seem to add up at all. She didn’t want to stay here for another second longer.

“No, remember, she said he’d be killed if we go to the police,” Jeongyeon reminded her.

“Well, what do you suggest we do?” Nayeon snapped, though she was immediately tugged by guilt, because it was just the truth. If only she’d had the foresight to know something was going to happen, maybe she could have thought of some way to prevent this mess.

“I know,” Mina spoke up, staring at the van. The other girls turned to her in surprise.

“Let’s get out of here.” There was a remarkable touch of danger in Mina’s voice, a brazen thrill spoken in quiet coolness. Chaeyoung’s eyes shined at her in awe, as though suddenly finding her ten times more attractive, if that were possible.

“Whaaat.”

“Is it possible?”

“Maybe that could work...:”

Hesitant murmurs swept through the group at this new suggestion.

“Let’s face it, it’s too risky to stay here,” Mina, ever the picture of casual composure under pressure, fished the keys from her front pocket as she spoke. “Thankfully, manager-san gave me the spare.” She unlocked the van with the click of a button.

“She’s right,” Sana nodded. “It’s probably best we leave the area, and we can go find outside help. But who’s going to drive? None of us three have drivers licenses, since one of our staff usually takes the wheel. What about you girls?”

“I’ll do it,” With determination, Jeongyeon yanked open the car door and slid into the front behind the steering wheel, looking self-assured as a professional race car driver.

“Can you even drive?!” Nayeon was taken aback. “This isn’t a joke.”

“I got my license last month, remember?” Jeongyeon raised her eyebrows. “You should check the group chat more often.”

“Um, you know in Japan they drive on the left side of the road? You’ve only practiced driving in Korea, on the right,” Tzuyu pointed out with a smirk.

“It should be similar,” Jeongyeon dismissed with a casual wave as she began adjusting the rear view mirror.

“Just don’t get us killed, please,” Nayeon rolled her eyes. “I’m serious, Jeongyeon, are you sure you got this?”

“I for one trust unnie,” Jihyo gazed at her with reverence and nodded. “You can do it.”

“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Sana grasped Dahyun’s hand and started guiding her protectively towards the car. She slid open the back doors and motioned for the others to follow.

The eight remaining girls hurried to climb inside. Nayeon squeezed into the back seat between Momo and Jihyo. Sana took the shotgun seat beside Jeongyeon in the front. The others clambered onto the middle seats. A tense silence fell over the group as they fastened their seat belts.  

“Well?” Jeongyeon looked back at everyone expectantly. Sana nodded and gave her the A-OK sign. Without a moment to lose, Jeongyeon floored it and the giant van jerked forward.   

Momo clutched onto Nayeon’s sleeve from the rapid acceleration, then relaxed. Within no time, the van left the garage and was now cruising the empty streets of Tokyo. A dreamy sort of expression fell over Momo as her gaze drifted out the window. Nayeon hesitantly withdrew her stare and checked at her watch. _It’s almost midnight!_ Time had indeed flown by fast. From the concert, to the fan reception, and now to...whatever _this_ turned into.  

Within a moment, all felt right, even if everything around them was going wrong. The girl she only dreamt of meeting in person once before, and even had a strange future vision about, sat peacefully beside her as they sped towards the unknown. Could it be wrong to feel even a tiny bit pleased, even if things were going to heck? TWICE’s manager was kidnapped, and they were possibly in very real danger. Yet Nayeon couldn’t help but feel assured that Momo was here next to her.

With its heavy tires squealing on the city pavement, the van was soon swallowed up by the hazy night.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for your patience and hope you enjoy this chapter. I hoped to update this week because of that amazing comeback!! have a great week ONCEs~


	8. Cafe

## Eight

* * *

The van came to a screeching halt at the stoplight, with the smoke from its idling engine vanishing into the inky midnight sky.

“I think we’re lost,” Jeongyeon admitted sheepishly as she attempted to decipher the nearest Japanese street sign. The usually self-assured Korean girl darted her nervous eyes around Tokyo’s spotlessly clean streets.

“Komagawa Street,” Sana read, tilting her head.

“Do you know where we are?”

“...” A brief pause hung in the air.

“To be honest, we’re not too familiar since none of us are originally from Tokyo. And we don’t drive ourselves,” Sana admitted, her uncertain eyes meeting Jeongyeon’s.

Dahyun looked out at the quiet city streets. There was hardly a person in sight. As the van rolled by, the glow of a 24-hour McDonald’s followed by a Family Mart passed by, then row after row of shop displays. She crossed her arms, the chilly temperature in the van made her skittish. Stray desires for Sana to come hug her for warmth crept in, but she pushed those thoughts aside for now.

“At least we’re away from that creepy place,” Dahyun remarked, shuddering at the memory.

“Say, does anyone finally have cell phone reception? We can find out where we are and call for help,” Jihyo piped up, her alert expression lit by the glow of her phone screen.

“Already tried that,” Momo said, not lifting her head from where she rested against the window. “But nobody picked up.”

“No replies yet to the texts I just sent,” Mina added quietly.

The van rolled on for a few minutes longer, before Jeongyeon broke the silence again.

“Alright, anyone any ideas?”

Although there was little traffic during the late hours, they couldn’t very well just drive on forever.

No one answered for a few minutes, as the van drove past narrow side streets neatly arranged in typical Tokyo fashion.

“Wait! Here…” Nayeon looked out the glass and pointed.

Dahyun could see her unnie’s expression was unusually confused, as if she was on to something. Nayeon’s brows knit together in intrigue and recognition, as though she had a flash of insight.

“Let’s go there!” she pointed.

“We’re not sightseeing at this hour, Nayeon...” Jeongyeon sighed, running a hand through her tousled short hair. The girls looked out the windows at Nayeon’s gesture.

Faced with the night’s unknown, the cafe beckoned like a friendly retreat from a storm on an otherwise plain street. The wooden exterior exuded a calm and quaint feeling, shaded by a faded green awning and decorated with hand written signs of the coffee specials of the day. A soft yellow glow lit the the windows inside. Dahyun thought she could see fuzzy and faded silhouettes moving beyond the glass.

In addition to the artfully painted Japanese characters on the outside wall, a strange symbol of three interwoven triangles shining with multicolored light, was branded on the door.

“I just have a feeling we could use a rest,” Nayeon defended her suggestion. “It... just looks like somewhere I’ve been before, and it seems safe.”

“No objections?”

Jeongyeon’s question was met with tired shrugs from most. Tzuyu actually looked asleep, resting peacefully despite the alarm of the earlier events.

Jeongyeon turned the steering wheel to park beside the curb. Everyone got out. Mina accepted Chaeyoung’s gracious hand in assistance when stepping out of the van. Despite the dampened mood, Sana emanated curiosity, bouncing forward with a touch of hopeful optimism as she tugged on Dahyun’s hand.

Not one to miss a subtle gesture, Mina arched her eyebrows in curiosity. _They’re on a hand-holding basis now? So I’m not the only one who’s become a little….attached to a fangirl._

Nayeon determinedly led the way forward towards the door, as though finally assuming her matured role as the eldest. Tzuyu yawned and asked if she could go back and sleep some more. Jihyo, ever the faithful friend, supported Tzuyu’s tall frame by wrapping her arm around her waist as Tzuyu rested her head on Jihyo’s shoulder.

The cheerful chime of the door bell greeted them as they came in.

True to its exterior, this cafe was a place off the beaten path, sparsely decorated with tasteful furniture and string lights. This type of city cafe that students liked to gather in until late hours evoked a mellow, underground atmosphere.

Dahyun thought it was the sort of place her friend Chaeyoung might like. If they lived in Tokyo, perhaps this would be their ideal study spot. Judging by Chaeyoung’s curious expression as she leaned in to examine a tiny plant inside a glass jar, Dahyun was probably right.

Despite the restless nature of their current predicament, Dahyun felt her spirits lift inside this quiet cafe, as though coming home after a long day.

The empty spots by the counter beckoned. The nine girls sat in a row, beside a modern coffee machine and the cash register.

Remembering the events of the past weeks, from the enjoyable texting exchanges to the concert where she cheered her fangirl heart out, Dahyun couldn’t help feeling a surge of inner joy when Sana met her eyes and took the chair next to her.

_That moment earlier, when we held hands in the darkness..._

The warm lighting made Sana look impossibly precious and even more cute beside her. Dahyun felt a curious tingling within her, her pulse quickened as though throbbing with some longing. With her heart beating faster, she gulped and confidently arched an eyebrow, wondering if she should speak first.

However, Jihyo, ever the effective leader, spoke up from down the row.

“We can’t lose hope. Sana, Momo, and Mina, we’re some of your biggest fans and we won’t leave you until this matter is resolved,” the bright eyed girl said, her tone encouraging and warm.

Everything still felt surreal to Dahyun, like unsolved jigsaw puzzle pieces emerging from a nightmare, yet Jihyo could speak so calmly, as if approaching a challenge just like any other, to overcome with a practical approach. Mina looked on and gave Jihyo a grateful pat on the shoulder.

“A group discussion could help us find new ideas and organize our thoughts so we can better handle this situation. So...what do you all think is best?” Jihyo’s gaze lowered, a bit awkwardly with the fangirls and three idols gazing at her, awed by her sudden show of leadership.

“Manager-san...he was always supporting us and coordinating our team. We really can’t live without him,” Momo sighed, her eyes misty with memory.

Nayeon, with shy reticence, put her arm around Momo. Momo returned the hug, to which Nayeon smiled with all her bunny teeth and looked more at ease. With this moment of everyone looking with concern towards Nayeon and Momo, the shared silence almost felt too fragile to break.

“Let’s order something. Perhaps a hot drink will cheer us up and help us think of what to do,” Nayeon suggested, with Momo ssniffling on her shoulder and burying her face in the crook of her neck.

This was probably a good idea, since they were already in the cafe, and there didn’t seem to be much else to do. There were few patrons late at night.  An elderly man in a baseball cap sat reading a thick book. A young couple, sitting closely across from each other at a booth, were playing games on their phones.

“Excuse me! Can I please have the green tea latte?” Sana called to the lone barista on shift.

“Sure,” the barista responded. He began to operate the milk steamer machine with graceful finesse. Despite the oddness of nine girls suddenly showing up out of the blue, the employee’s manner was nonchalant and easygoing, as though accustomed to unusual customers in the dead of night.

His dyed blonde hair was marked by a roguish shade of purple, and a silver earring hung twinkling on his ear. Dahyun sensed something magical about this barista, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. A mysterious quirk, just past the threshold of ordinary, seemed to linger below the barista’s quiet exterior.

The rest of the girls each decided on a various drinks, whether it be latte or cafe mocha. Dahyun couldn’t decide and ended up ordering the same as Sana.  

As they sat waiting, Sana rested her chin casually on her hand as she leaned on the counter. Out of the corner of her eye, Dahyun couldn’t help but admire the elegant curve of her back and slender crossed legs, before her cheeks promptly reddened for having such thoughts. The drinks arrived shortly afterward and Sana passed Dahyun’s drink down the table to her, with a wink and smile. Dahyun returned this with a courageous, equally-as-flirtatious wink, then quickly drank the latte to quench her thirst.

“Nayeon, I must thank you for pointing out this place,” Sana said smoothly, sipping her latte. "It's quite cute here."

“Oh, that, it’s nothing” Nayeon gave a flustered, bunny-toothed grin. “It’s really that shape on the door outside, I really feel like I’ve seen it before-”

CRASH.

The glass front of the store shattered with an intensity that took their breath away. Nayeon gave a shrill yelp and covered her ears. Tzuyu instantaneously pushed the shorter girl Chaeyoung under the table as though hiding her away for protection. Chaeyoung grasped Mina’s hand and pulled her under too.

“TAKE COVER!” the barista shouted, his voice startling the patrons who could barely process what was occurring.

There were too many to count.

With huge wings, and covered in black scales, they swarmed the cafe like a tornado of large, grotesque bats. Shrieking and roaring, the monsters flew into the once-quiet cafe and swirled around in a rapid circle, knocking down chairs and tables in the way like the path of a typhoon. The powerful gusts of night wind from the gaping hole in the shattered store front blew their hair askew.

What exactly were they? They reminded Dahyun of gargoyles, the flying monsters she’d seen one night during a horror movie marathon with the other girls, an experience she’d much rather not repeat despite Jeongyeon’s insistence that the film was a classic. She covered her ears at the terrible sounds they uttered.

With a  flourish, the barista pulled out a two-handed futuristic-looking weapon, resembling a laser gun like from science fiction movies, only marked by shimmering rainbow etchings on the sides.

“Get down! They’ve found you!”

The other patrons in the cafe were huddled under the cafe tables. Her palms slick with nervous sweat, Dahyun peeked out from under the counter she had ducked under.

Taking one shot after another, the barista took down the gargoyles with the strange weapon. One gargoyle went down with a terrible shriek, its red eyes fading as the glow left its eyes as the life force drained from it.

However, he clearly struggled fending off the sheer numbers, which had to be at least ten or twenty by the count, of the bat-like creatures flying around the cafe, wreaking havoc on the neat decorations.

“To the back!”  He unlocked a door behind the counter, which opened up to a storeroom lined with coffee supplies. The girls hurried to take shelter from the monsters. Dahyun looked out for the other patrons, but they had already escaped through the front door.

In the midst of the action, as she began to follow the others out, a cry for help pierced the air.

Sana, trapped by a destroyed table still a few feet away, huddled on her own. The monsters began to slow their relentless flight and started towards her. Their sharp fangs glinted in the fading light.

“Sana!!!”

“We have to help her!”

Frozen in terror, the girls didn’t know what to do.

Dahyun felt the adrenaline rush to her head, which overwhelmed her like a jolt of lighting. The strands of the Gift were stronger than ever before, tugging at her heart like inner ropes that pulled her ever closer towards unleashing the feelings within.

Dahyun rushed out in a surge of fearlessness. She didn’t know where her courage stemmed from, but Sana was in danger and that was all that mattered in this moment.  

“Where are you going?!” Jihyo called, her eyes filled with horror and concern.

“Hey, Mr. Ugly, look over here!”

To everyone’s immediate surprise, Dahyun did a funny dance. She wiggled her hips and raised her eyebrows mischievously. With quirky but powerful motions, Dahyun danced with no holds barred. The moment seemed absurd and comedic as the girls gaped at her boldness. She had certainly drawn the monsters’ attention away from attacking Sana. Chaeyoung raised a hand to her mouth, shocked at her friend’s sudden daring.

Now, as the overpowering desire to save Sana rose up within her, Dahyun directed her attention towards the nearest monster, who was coming towards her with a shriek. Thinking fast, she concentrated hard on a nearby table.

The table rose up in ghostly levitation, as if by magic. It dangled in midair, spinning as though with slow deliberation, before hurtling towards the horde of monsters at breakneck speed. With a resounding crash, the table broke into many wooden-splintered pieces upon impact. The monsters uttered a horrible shriek of rage as they were caught by this sudden attack.

“Hurry, take my hand!”

Dahyun rushed out as the monsters were still tangled up by the broken table, and she led Sana to safety towards the exit door with the others. Sana pushed her long hair aside and gazed with astounded admiration at Dahyun.

As soon as everyone was past the door, the barista immediately locked and barred it.

Leading the way with a flashlight in the darkness of the storeroom, the barista strode down the long room and moved aside the tall shelf of canned coffee grounds in the back. The shelf swung out like a giant door, revealing a secret escape tunnel leading away from the storeroom.

After they all gave him a look of surprise, he explained softly, “It’s for emergencies. We don’t have much time, but I’ll explain once we’re safely out of here.”

They followed him down the passageway, which reminded Dahyun of an abandoned subway tunnel or bomb shelter escape route. The silence enveloped them.

“What...just...happened? Back there, were those monsters?” Jeongyeon gasped, out of breath.

“Was that real? _Ottoke?_ ” Chaeyoung muttered.

“I cannot believe...you just did that,” Jihyo addressed Dahyun.

Despite the surreal chaos of what just happened, it was clear to everyone who witnessed the event that Dahyun had just risked her own life and safety to save Sana. A feeling of newfound awe rose up within them for the third youngest girl.

Dahyun’s heart still thudded like a fast drum from the adrenaline rush. Did she really just rush out there and do that? Her ordinary fear, which gripped her in daily life when she feared even dogs on the street, flew out the window when seeing Sana in danger back in the cafe.

In that moment, a sense of responsibility, of selfless bravery, overwhelmed any hold that fear held on her. Since when had her Gift become so powerful? Her mind still running a hundred miles an hour, she could hardly believe it herself.

_How did that courage just...come to me? I’ve never done anything like that before in my life._

Their voices and footsteps echoed down the ghostly tunnel. The curious graffiti of English and Japanese characters marred the concrete walls. Perhaps they were the remnants of generations past, who traversed this very passage.

Nayeon was supporting Momo, who stumbled with fatigue, supporting her with her arm slung over her shoulder. Mina and Chaeyoung clung to each other like a pair of mice. At the very least, with the elevated sense of danger growing further away with each passing step, the girls had each other.

Finally, they came to a large, darkened space, that once might have been an underground subway station. Tzuyu, exhausted, rested on an abandoned dusty crate. Some of the other girls rested on a couch which looked so old it might collapse at any moment, having survived decades of ruin.

A dim light emitted from a fire, lit in the barrel of an old oil drum.

“They can’t follow us down here. That tunnel’s sealed with Gifted energy,” the barista said, as though experienced with the situation. He set down his flashlight and began rummaging through some supplies in a crate.

“Sana, are you okay?” Dahyun noticed a shallow wound on Sana’s leg, an injury from the escape.

“It’s just my leg, don’t worry about me,” Sana panted. Despite the circumstances, she put on a brave smile in response to Dahyun’s worried gaze.

The girls looked at her injury with concern.

“There’s a first aid kit down here,” the barista said, passing the medical bag down from the storage box to them.

Dahyun unwrapped the clean bandages from the kit and began to clean up the wound. Her expression for Sana was that of tender care. The other members looked towards them, as Sana observed her with gratitude. No doubt, Dahyun’s astonishing show of her Gift earlier was the elephant in the room. However, the immediacy of their narrow escape from danger quelled the urge for anyone to bring the topic up just yet.

“Um, okay. Please explain what’s going on,” Jihyo spoke up, after a long moment of trying to process her reactions and clarify her thoughts.

The barista sighed. He wiped his dusty hands on his green employee’s apron and sat down in a metal chair. Everyone gathered in to listen.

“My name is Lee Daehwi, “ he began in low tones. Though previously he had a youthful, almost-feminine exuberance to his demeanor, he suddenly seemed like a tired old man, worn down by years of battle fatigue.

“I’m one of the many operatives established in the city. Those monsters you saw back there are minions of the...Empress.”

“The Empress?” Nayeon asked, her blood running cold. Her eyes widened with recognition.

“You girls are a few of the rare Gifted left. This has been an ongoing war for centuries. Unfortunately, you’re caught in the middle of it."

As though it hung like a pervasive strench, a sense of apprehension plagued the air. With the bandage finally wrapped with neat precision around Sana’s leg, Dahyun instinctly pulled her in for a hug. Sana wrapped her arms around Dahyun, her grateful affection emanating from her in a wave of warmth.

Despite the insanity, Dahyun felt reassured Sana was safe and they were here together. For the time being, everything held together, delicate as though suspended on a wire, in the soothing relief of a moment all too real.


	9. Safehouse

 “Who is the Empress?” Jihyo asked in hushed tones. Though she possessed the natural practicality of a leader who always knew what to do, Jihyo felt affected by the daze of earlier events.

With a downcast expression, Daehwi remembered the battle trauma of the past, the outcome to each battle as hopeless as the next. His gloomy countenance only added to his overall tired demeanor.

“It’s...a long story. And it’s not one that I can explain fully, without things sounding crazy.”

“Try us. We just got attacked by a bunch of giant bat creatures.” Defiant and curious, Jeongyeon leaned in to listen. “At this point, I’m ready to believe anything.”

“Many years ago, the Empress was once a Gifted. Talented, too. From what I heard, she was a normal girl, pretty and well-liked. But her power overwhelmed her, to the point where she lost control. Now she’s willing to wipe out anyone who’s a threat. It’s only rumors about her floating around nowadays.” Daehwi shrugged.  

“From what the underground network says, confronted with the ‘unity of true love’, she’ll be destroyed. No idea what that really means. I’ve never actually seen her before, her minions show up on occasion and try to attack me when I’m working.”

“What do you mean by ‘Gifted’?” Jeongyeon asked.

“Out of sight from the ordinary people, we Gifted live a normal life, working ordinary jobs, like at a cafe for instance. Or we might be that person simply reading a newspaper or waiting for the subway. We’re rare, and our numbers are dwindling by the day. Mysterious, sudden deaths of people that get passed off as accidents or suicides. I just know _she’s_ behind it.” His mood darkened.

“Well what exactly is a Gift?”

“It’s not easy to explain...Gifts are just a natural ability we have, like a born talent. For example, I could do this ever since I could remember.”

Daehwi sat still and closed his eyes. He seemed to be holding his breath. Suddenly, his facial shape changed. His nose elongated, his cheeks rounded out, and his hair turned white. Wrinkles etched across his formerly smooth skin. Within seconds, he’d taken on the appearance of the elderly patron at the cafe. Then, just as quickly, his face morphed back to normal.  

“Woah!”

“You...you looked totally different!”

The girls expressed shock and amazement at the mysterious barista’s sudden change.

Daehwi shrugged, as if it was nothing special. “I’m used to it by now, and don’t really use it much. It just lasts for a few seconds, and I can only imitate guys I’ve met before. Running the cafe that my family owns is more important to me.”

“But...just think of the possibilities!” Dahyun’s mind ran with all the possibilities of changing one’s appearance at will.

“So you’re saying...some of us are like you? Have a special Gift that we were born with?” Nayeon asked, with some hesitation.

Daehwi nodded slowly. “What you did back there was no ordinary feat,” he addressed Dahyun.

Everyone directed their attention to her, confused yet awed at the same time. Dahyun’s cheeks reddened under Sana’s reverent gaze. The earlier events, the juice spill, the text messages, everything Sana knew about Dahyun was starting to coalesce, yet she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. The scene earlier where Dahyun saved her life by, undeniably raising an object in the air. Even though Dahyun didn’t touch it, everyone could tell she possessed some kind of telekinesis power. 

“How did Dahyun just...do that?” Jihyo asked.

“She’s got the Gift,” Daehwi said simply. The statement sunk in. Some girls in the group looked away. They had their own secrets yet to be revealed.

“It’s always small things I could do,” Dahyun mumbled, embarrassed though at the same time relieved she could finally be open about herself. “Moving a pen across my desk at school, or shut the door without touching it. It was never something _big_ like back there. I can’t really explain how I did it.”

She avoided looking too much at Sana while speaking.

“And what were those creatures back there?” Tzuyu asked with a shudder. The girl’s curiosity implored her to speak up for the first time.

“They’re part of her army. At least from what I can tell, they possess an innate sense of who is a ‘Gifted’. That’s why they keep showing up to my family’s cafe here. They must have been especially drawn here tonight. This gun, passed down through my family, helps ward them off, but eventually…” he sighed, putting down the multi-colored weapon he carried from earlier which he fired at the gargoyle creatures. “Well, we can’t keep fending them off forever.”

Despite the influx of information, many couldn’t help peppering him with more questions.

“The Empress kidnapped our manager and we’re trying to find out what to do,” Momo looked despondent. “How can we fight back?”

“What was that sign on the door of your cafe?” Nayeon added in.

“I understand where you’re all coming from, but you all must be tired,” Daehwi held up his hands in relent. “Just rest here for tonight and there’ll be explanations in the morning, promise.”

He was probably right, since everyone still felt shell-shocked by the battle, each girl entangled within her own strand of thoughts, with some more confused than the others despite the explanation so far. Things could wait until morning.

Daehwi left to keep watch outside in the tunnel. Jihyo expressed her concern but he admitted he just couldn’t rest without knowing there was someone outside to keep watch. Fortunately, this abandoned bunker seemed to have many branching side rooms. The girls navigating the twisting tunnels that led to old store rooms. Most of them just stayed in the main room and fell asleep on the couches.

“There’s a lot of junk left over, from when this place used to be a safehouse,” Daehwi explained, his voice echoing from the tunnel entrance to the main room.

“Safehouse?” Jeongyeon asked.

Daehwi shook his head. “It’s a long story. Basically, here was a battle shelter for the Gifted during the past fights in Tokyo.” He sighed and looked around, then hugged his weapon with a protective stance.

“It’s fallen into disrepair. Most of us are gone now.”

 

* * *

 

“This place is like a maze…” Dahyun observed her surroundings in wonder.. 

Strange artifacts hung on the stone walls, collecting dust yet nonetheless reflecting a mysterious aura off the beams of their flashlights.

Sana gave her a nervous smile. Both were acutely aware of the other while alone in the small store room, a stone’s throw away from the main shelter where the other girls congregated, but neither knew what to say. What could be said, after all these strange events were said and done? The girls felt fatigue down to their bones, yet the heightened adrenaline rush from earlier made the possibility of sleep seem far away. After a moment of hesitation, Sana spoke.

“What you did back there was no easy feat.”

A whole new side of this girl emerged back at the cafe. This time, Dahyun hadn’t just vanished a juice spill (which was already weird in and of itself). The fangirl, who wouldn’t look out of place walking around on a university campus, made a table float and destroy a horde of bloodthirsty bat-creatures. It was all like a dream, or a scene right out of a movie.

“Thanks,” Dahyun said, embarrassed. “It was nothing, really, I don’t know how I did it. It’s...hard to explain.”

“Try me,” Sana gave her a look of encouragement. “This ‘Gift’ of yours, you’ve had it for a long time?”

Dahyun nodded. “For as long as I can remember. But sometimes…” she sighed. “I just feel it getting stronger. Pulling at me. Not always in a good or bad way. It just feels different than what I’m used to is all.”

“I understand.”

“You do?” Dahyun raised her eyebrows.

For some reason, Sana couldn’t bring herself to say what she felt. During their online chats, they could comfortably bombard each other with endless kawaii emojis and cheesy pick-up lines. A memory of when they held hands at the studio, such a simple gesture, arose in her mind. In person, however, given everything wild that was going on, those feelings were trapped within her like a cork stopping a bottle. Dahyun wasn’t like other girls, and accordingly Sana felt different altogether, like being broken apart and sewn together into a new person.

Yes, those endless worries about the safety of Manager-san, who had supported Twice since the very beginning (and who knows what danger he might be in) never left Sana. But just being in this strange almost ethereal space, existing in this moment with Dahyun gave her the comfort she never knew she was missing from her life.

Sana just nodded and studied Dahyun’s fine features in the dim light.

“Do you remember what Daehwi said, how about the ‘unity of true love’ can defeat the Empress?” she finally asked, her voice light and curious. “What do you think he meant by that?”

“I...I wouldn’t know,” Dahyun pondered her words.  “Love...?” She spoke with the delicate caution of pronouncing a word in a foreign language, as if asking the question to herself.

“What is _love_?”

“Maybe you can help me...find the answer.” Sana’s words were soft as a whisper.

She was so close that Sana could feel the gentle rhythm of her breath. Inside, her heart could not stop beating fast enough.   

She was the most beautiful person Sana had ever met. Never before had she felt one-hundred-percent sure of her real feelings towards anyone like this. Raising her hand, Sana gently lifted Dahyun's chin with delicate flair, gazing down into her eyes before gently brushing her lips against hers in a hesitant gesture.

Dahyun jumped back, her face registering shock.

“Sorry. Was that too far?” Sana backed off with hand covering her mouth, taken aback by her own boldness.

"N-No, I was just surprised." Dahyun broke out into nervous, halting laughter and brushed a strand of hair aside. The girl was awkward when it came to this, that was clear. Yet her laughter was the most beautiful sound she'd ever heard. Truth be told, their intense eye contact had even Sana's stomach turning somersaults. Clearly, they were both embarrassed, but she still had the upper hand when it came to experience.

Sana let out a slow exhale.  _Desperate times call for desperate measures._

“Can you give me the directions to your heart?” she asked at last, studying Dahyun closely.

Dahyun looked at her, incredulous.

“Because I’ve gotten lost in your eyes.”  

Dahyun covered her mouth and couldn't help but giggle at her startling remark. “Do you use that line on every girl you talk to?”

“I was saving it for you." She winked, breaking the ice between them. The two girls burst into a fit of giggles.

“Sana, you’re such a sweet talker,” Dahyun smirked, unable to believe the audacity of this insanely cute girl. Her smile lit up the elegant features of her face that Sana so deeply admired. 

It was at this instant that Sana decided to go for it. Now or never. Finally gathering her courage, Sana came closer and met her lips head on, their touch happening in an instant. Their mutual feelings blossomed like the arrival of eternal spring. She grasped at the front of Dahyun's coat to draw her nearer, her fingers gripped onto the fabric like holding onto a lifeline. An unspeakably intense bond, an unspoken secret within the moment.

The flashlight Dahyun was holding dropped to the floor with a clatter.

“Hey does anyone know where Mina went—”

The words caught in her throat as she came into the room from the passage outside. Chaeyoung’s eyes widened at the sight of her friend lip-locked with _the_ Minatozaki Sana. Fortunately, neither girl seemed to notice. Chaeyoung slipped away with nary a sound.

 


	10. McDonald's

Chaeyoung awoke with a start. _Bad dreams again?_ No, she’s safe next to Mina, slumped on this couch. She lifted her head from resting on Mina’s shoulder.  

The shelter returned to her view. Perhaps a trick of the morning’s light, but the subway-station-like space appeared noticeably less dingy than the night before.  Though the safehouse was underground, rectangular shafts of sunlight filtered in from the surface, the dust particles glimmering like fairies at dawn. She noticed vegetation growth thriving on the scarred walls and floor, as if the green moss and ivy vines were gradually reclaiming the place back from civilization.  The scarred concrete whispered with the forgotten history of battles past.

A new day, an uncertain future. Those dreamlike memories of the concert, the darkness that followed, and the surreal battle scene started to fade from her mind. Yet even upon awakening, feeling strangely peaceful in Mina’s company, last night’s memory of Sana and Dahyun resurfaced in her memory. Chaeyoung couldn’t help but cringe a little, embarrassed about stumbling upon their intimate moment.

Last night, after searching all around, she finally found Mina fast asleep on an old couch, probably left by the former inhabitants who fought all those years ago. Her sleeping face seemed so peaceful, so pure, even at the end of a long night. _Like an angel’s_.

Chaeyoung couldn’t help but wonder that if Dahyun could find spontaneous happiness sharing a moment with Sana, if she had a chance to know Mina better? _No_ . She did her best to avoid overthinking that route. It was selfish. _She probably had a lot on her mind, last of all me._ Not to mention the stress from this current predicament. Being on the sidelines for Mina, to support her and even protect her, was enough for Chaeyoung. Just having Myoui Mina, not merely the celebrity the world fell for, but the real girl behind the idol persona consider her as a new _friend_ , was enough to let Chaeyoung fall fast asleep beside her last night.

“You have the Gift don’t you?” In the present, Mina’s voice was barely above a whisper.

Chaeyoung sat up straight. Mina, now wide awake, seemed calmly pleased. Her tousled hair and slightly smudged makeup somehow made her more beautiful in Chaeyoung’s eyes.

“W-Wha-” Chaeyoung felt flustered. It was obvious now, especially with the talk they had yesterday.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude...” Mina started. She looked away, abashed.

Chaeyoung met her eyes and nodded. “It’s okay. Yes, it’s true. I’ve never really told anyone before, but I just try to use it to help people, if possible.”

Mina fell silent for a few seconds. Was she thinking back to the time Chaeyoung healed her from the dance injury? In any case, that memory was forever seared into Chaeyoung’s mind.

“I just...had a feeling that you were special. Like your friend Dahyun.” Mina gave a slight smile.

“It’s nothing special,” Chaeyoung confessed. Inside, her heart was melting away. She wanted to relax and fall back asleep next to Mina forever. So in the midst of chaos, a temporary peace presided...

“Has anyone seen Sana and Dahyun?” Jihyo asked, her voice echoing.

After getting up and walking a short distance, Mina and Chaeyoung rounded a corner and found the rest of the girls grouped together where they talked to Daehwi last night. The fire in the oil drum had burned out, leaving behind cindering ashes. Momo was sitting on the ground, staring numbly at her phone. Nayeon laid a comforting hand on her shoulder, while Tzuyu looked on. Jeongyeon was still sound asleep on the couch.  

“Any chance of finding breakfast?” Momo asked sadly. She was never one to miss a meal, especially not the most important one of the day.

“More like lunch now,” Nayeon said, checking her phone. It was just fifteen minutes until noon. Undoubtedly, the exhaustion from last night let them all sleep longer past their usual waking time. Jeongyeon still looked like she was out cold.

“No new messages about manager-san. He probably can’t access his phone at the moment,” Momo sighed. Nayeon patted her head, like cheering up a downcast puppy. Momo seemed to perk up at the fangirl’s touch even as she didn’t move her eyes away from the screen.

“Wow..” Momo’s eyes widened. “There’s about fifty new messages from our other manager, Sadness-san, and the staff members.”

“Well, we have been gone for more than twelve hours now. They must be worried about where you are,” Jihyo said.

“Um...Mina, help. What should I reply to them? Yesterday’s been too crazy to believe.” Momo looked to her fellow member for help.

“Just say we’re away for the day. We’ll need time to sort things out. In any case, we can’t resume Twice activities without Pinky-san, so finding him should be our number one priority,” Mina replied, always one to keep her cool-headed rationale.

“Let’s try and find that guy from yesterday...Daehwi, right?” Chaeyoung suggested. The prospect of finding the one person who had even the slightest inkling of what was going on roused the group from their late morning stupor.

“Sorry everyone,” Dahyun’s voice broke the silence. Sana and Dahyun joined the circle. They both looked a little sheepish at being separated from the group.

“We got a little lost last night.” Dahyun mumbled, giving a subtle look at Sana. Chaeyoung smiled, looking down. Inwardly, she burst with happiness for her friend.

“What a relief now that we’re together again. Now’s not the time to be splitting up. It’s dangerous out there,” Jihyo said with the affection of a mother worried for her missing children.

“I’m not worried because we have Dahyunnie to protect us~” Sana said, batting her eyelashes affectionately while tugging on Dahyun’s arm. Momo smirked but didn’t press the issue. Nayeon shook Jeongyeon awake as the girls went together to go find their guide.  

Finding Daehwi asleep on the ground by the main entrance, they debated among themselves whether to wake him up. Finally, Tzuyu prodded his elbow with her Converse sneaker. He jolted awake, clutching the gun in a panic, before catching sight of them staring at him.

“You scared me!” he yelped.

“Sorry…” Tzuyu was both apologetic and amused.

“Does everyone want to go out?” Daehwi sat up. “I could use a bite…”

“Breakfast?” Momo’s ears perked up.

“Breakfast.”

 

* * *

 

Secretly, Chaeyoung yearned for the surface again. At the same time,  her heart thudded with the fear what the new open space might bring. The shelter had lured them into a sense of security from the bat-creatures, but Empress, whoever this evil woman was, was still out there. 

Daehwi seemed to know the way out, leading the way through the twisting, serpentine passages, which reminded Chaeyoung of old subway tunnels. Finally, he darted into a side corridor. Everyone followed him up a set of winding stone steps, before he opened a rusty metal door at the top.

Sunlight burst in and momentarily blinded them all. Back onto ground level, on the streets of Tokyo. A quaint side alley, bursting with cherry blossoms and culture by the calligraphic signs advertising ramen shops not yet open for the day, welcomed them. They followed signs out to the main street.

The city, roused from morning sleepiness, bustled with activity. The sun shined directly overhead in a cloudless sky. Colorful shop signs, the gentle _ding_ of nearby convenience store doors sliding open, and the whoosh of passing cars returned to them the feeling of mundane urban life.

“How do we know we’re safe out here?” Dahyun's question burst out as her eyes edgily shifted from the pedestrians crossing the street to the passing bicyclists. She didn’t how much more Gift she had to give, if another attack were to happen. It wasn’t a question anyone wanted to find out.

“We don’t,” Daehwi answered her with a grim smile. “But they don’t usually dare to attack in broad daylight. Even the Empress wants to keep a low profile.”

 

* * *

 

Admittedly, the nearby McDonald's was the easiest place to grab food. Their ubiquitous locations scattered around Tokyo made them a convenient target, and it was surprisingly empty given the time of day. Perhaps this slow day was a blessing when they walked in, since Twice getting recognized in public would only complicate matters.

After ordering with the robotic cashier, they went upstairs and sat by the second story window. Chaeyoung was pleased to sit next to Mina and Tzuyu.

As the others went to collect the food, Chaeyoung stared down at the passerby and the ordinary scene below. She couldn’t help but wish she’d get the chance to draw this city. She stole a side glance at Mina. Actually, she wished she could draw Mina too. A more detailed work than the simple penguin drawing she gave her. Having a real life muse was any artist’s dream come true. Chaeyoung silently admired Mina’s flawless side profile, already daydreaming about her sketch.

She always drew strange things that not many others could understand. She created her own artistic world, enjoying the freedom to sketch and doodle all day to her heart’s content, with her earphones in, never once getting bored. Yet the recent turn of events had turned her world inside out. Unlike the paper world of her imagination, real life wasn't so easily controllable. There were no pencil marks to erase, no turning over to a fresh sheet in her sketchbook. Things just happened and she was an observer simply along for the ride. 

Daehwi, Momo, Nayeon, and Jeongyeon came back to the table, bearing trays, and sat down.

“To continue where I left off yesterday...“ Daehwi began, taking a bite of french fry. Chaeyoung was roused from her momentary reverie as all the girls leaned in to listen.

Nayeon took a sip of milkshake and made a face, saying, “This is terrible, even in a Japanese McDonald’s.” Jeongyeon shushed her.

“As I was saying before, there’s an underground network of us Gifted who would love to topple the Empress,” Daehwi said. “She’s a threat to the safety of all citizens, not just us. There’s many Gifted scattered around the Tokyo area, but there’s no big plan to lead the fight against the rising forces of darkness.” He sighed and stirred his soda sadly. “The truth is, we’re way too underpowered for that.”

“Now, while we stay connected through text and chat groups, each Gifted is more or less on their own. I’ve got to stay home and help my parents take care of the family business. I really wish I could do more, but I’m powerless to help much.”

“So...could we do something to help that would also rescue Twice’s manager?” Jihyo asked, tilting her head as she listened with intent.

“Yes. I’m certain if you can locate his whereabouts, there might be a way to get him back.”

“The police don’t know anything about the Empress?”  

He shook his head. “She’s very careful not to leave tracks to make sure she can stay hidden from ordinary people. According to legend, she’s been lurking in the shadows for centuries, so she must know how to stay hidden from ordinary people.”

“Like a vampire?” Jeongyeon cocked an eyebrow with doubt.

“I guess you could call her that,” Daehwi said. “But she doesn’t drink people’s blood like vampires in the movies, as far as I know. She simply prefers to kill anyone she doesn’t like. Usually, her minions do the dirty work for her.”

“She can’t just get away with this.” Dahyun shook her head at this injustice. “Can’t we tell the police what we know? They must have better resources to handle all this.”

“But what can guns do against supernatural forces like what we saw yesterday?” Nayeon lamented. “ _Otoke_?”

Daehwi shrugged. “At the very least, the police would need weapons like the one I have, but my gun is the only one of its kind that I know of.”

“But you, Dahyun, you’re onto something,” he addressed her. “If you could…” Daehwi hesitated. “Train. Get stronger, somehow. You’re a talent, and honestly you can’t waste the ability you have. I’m sorry to be encouraging you to go into more danger, but a Gift like yours is badly needed to our weakened network in this city. Will you help us?”

Dahyun looked around at the others, unsure of herself. Slowly, she nodded, her mind made up.

“Actually...she’s not the only one with the Gift you described,” Nayeon broke in with uncertainty. “I think I have it too.” Everyone swiveled to gape at her in shock. The drink straw fell out of Jeongyeon’s mouth. Momo continued eating, still surprised but to a lesser extent.

Daehwi nodded. “I had a feeling about you. After all, the sign on our cafe door is only recognizable to Gifted.”

“Right! Nayeon was the one who said we should stop by,” Jeongyeon said, suddenly remembering last night.

“What exactly...can you do?” Sana asked Nayeon, giving her a curious look.

“See the future,” Nayeon said bluntly.

Everyone froze as they processed this revelation.

“Well, sort of.” Nayeon proceeded to explain more about the exact mechanisms of her Gift, to a limited extent. She didn’t mention her future vision about Momo, but the oldest girl couldn't help thinking about that memory when describing her Gift to the group. She shifted her gaze towards her bias, though Momo didn't seem to notice much outside of her Egg McMuffin. 

Mina gave Chaeyoung a side glance, her eyes forming the unspoken question. Chaeyoung tilted her head towards Nayeon's direction, indicating she would come out when she felt ready. Tzuyu glanced at the two with curiosity.  

“I’ve known you since middle school, and yet you haven’t told me all these years,” Jeongyeon, still astounded, said to Nayeon.

“It just never came up.” She shrugged. “Anyways, it’s not very reliable in helping me. Most of the time.”

“In any case, it’s great you’re offering to help our cause,” Daehwi said, pleased another Gifted could join to help the cause..

“Anything to get the manager of Twice back,” Nayeon looked at Momo. 

“So what do you think is the Empress’s next move?” Dahyun asked, ready for action.

Daehwi shook his head. “To be honest, I have no idea what she’s planning. But from the sound of things, she knows about you all and wants to lure you to her. The best advice I can give is to level up, so to speak.” He looked at Dahyun and Nayeon.

“Just tell us what the next step should be,” Nayeon said, now determined.

“You’re not safe here for long while they can still track you down. But I know someone who can help you.”

“Really? Who?” Jihyo asked, intrigued.

“She’s...a teacher, of sorts. An expert in the training of the Gift. She fought in the front lines before a tragedy happened to her sister all those years ago. The details are foggy, but the Empress had something to do with it. She's less active in the network nowadays, but she can still help you a lot more than I can.”

Daehwi sent a quick text on his phone, before he carefully wrote something on a napkin and gave it to them. The girls examined the name and eleven-digit phone number scrawled there.

“She lives in Nakameguro. Her name is....Lee Sunmi.”


End file.
